What Is HFA - High Functioning Autism?
Autism as a disorder is diagnosed on the basis of abnormalities detected in the subject in the spheres of social interaction, communication, imagination, combined with a marked tendency towards indulging in peculiar, repetitive behavior. Most autistic subjects also have very few interests and passions and largely keep to themselves. So how is the condition of high functioning autism different and how is the diagnosis made on the subject? The term, 'High-Functioning Autism', also called HFA, applies to people suffering from autism, who also register an IQ of 80 or above. People with HFA also have a clear ability to speak, read and write. Hence, people diagnosed with HFA might actually have normal or even above-average intelligence on the whole and might not at all seem that cognitively challenged at all. An autistic person who displays all the signs of typical HFA except having a history of delayed or abnormal speech development, is said to be suffering fr...