I was inspired to cover this after seeing a YouTube where a Level 1 autistic woman strongly implied that ALL Level 1’ers need help with adulting.
She cited a few examples including needing someone else to make important phone calls for them.
Now, certainly, there are Level 1 Autistics who have others make phone calls such as setting doctor appointments.
And there are many others who don’t have this help yet get by fine with making phone calls themselves.
It was just an example – that doesn’t apply to all Level 1 Autistics – but her point was that ALL people with Level 1 autism need some type of assistance that would, like the phone call help, fall under the category of “Requires Help with Adulting.”
She strongly sent the message that NO person with ASD-1 is capable of living fully independently.
She didn’t say they can’t live by themselves or hold down a full-time professional job.
She said that they’d still need some form of assistance with taking care of themselves that would fall outside the realm of normal common help that many neurotypical non-disabled people might seek out.
For example, many typical, non-disabled individuals without autism pay people to do their taxes.
Some feel helpless in a gym and thus, hire an ongoing personal trainer.
Some will never change a flat tire.
Some couldn’t change the oil in their car to save their life.
But these aren’t considered tasks of “adulting.”
It’s the tasks of adulting – behavior that is characteristic of a responsible adult, particularly with the completion of mundane but necessary tasks of independent living – that’s at issue here with this YouTuber. She believes that those with Level 1 ASD can’t fully adult.
Where does she get off spreading this misinformation?
During my formal assessment for autism, not once was I questioned about my ability to conduct adulting-type tasks such as money management, personal hygiene and shopping for groceries.
According to the DSM-5, which is the U.S. mental health specialist’s guide for diagnoses, Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder is noted as “Requiring Support.”
But what does “requiring support” mean?
The DSM-5 does not elaborate on this term for ASD-1. “Requiring support” is not a medical or psychiatric term.
And it’s open to subjective interpretation, particularly in terms of just how much support and the type of support.
- Can “support” be synonymous with “accommodation”?
- What about the phenomenon that “support” is relative to one’s environment including modern technology?
I need accommodations if I’m working at a conventional office.
Does this mean I struggle to adult? Of course not.
The accommodations that I need, which some might say is a form of “requires support,” would primarily involve that of noise and odor.
That most people aren’t bothered by the sounds and odors that I find quite troublesome, could make it seem that I “require support.”
Call it what you will, but my aversion to sensory stimuli in the environment does not impact my ability to behave as a responsible adult should and achieve completion of the necessary tasks of daily living.
As for today’s technology making life so much easier for both Autistics and neurotypicals, it’s true that long before the advent of DoorDash, Instacart, personal shoppers, rideshares and an app for everything under the sun, it may have seemed that many “slightly” autistic people struggled with taking care of themselves.
At the same time, I’ve known quite a few neurotypicals who struggled to take care of themselves.
I know an autistic woman who’s a single mother and is laden with medical conditions that impair her mobility and cause chronic pain.
Nobody helps her out. Both parents are dead; her daughter’s father is out of the picture; her sister is a drug addict; she has no friends.
But somehow, someway, she’s able to navigate the healthcare system and keep track of countless paperwork, including letters of rejection from various medical providers for knee surgery due to her extreme body weight.
For several years she has spent a lot of time on the phone trying to get doctors to take her diagnosis of stage 4 lipedema seriously and get coverage for nonsurgical management — which includes home care protocols that she conducts without any assistance.
She’s traveled cross-state independently for lipedema surguries.
Nobody helps her make her ongoing medical appointments or manage her never-ending pile of medical bills.
She also manages to provide well for her child and create lasting memories for her.
This woman, also diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, actually “super adults.”
Nobody Knows
It’s not known what percentage of people with a clinical diagnosis of ASD-1 live on their own but “require support” — whatever that truly means.
It’s not known what percentage of late diagnosed Autistics require only the so-called accommodations.
And the line between what’s an accommodation and what’s a support can be blurry.
My sensory issues, overthinking and especially social communication deficits impact the quality of my life. But I don’t “require support,” if that makes sense.
I just require the right environment. I’m going berserk living in an apartment complex where I hear thoughtless neighbors banging doors all day long.
I’m sick of hearing noisy cars outside my window. I plug my ears when I hear thundering loud motorcycles on nearby streets.
I keep a fan running to help block out the noise of ambient traffic or when I can hear the tenants below me talking.
- I can’t stand the feel of stickers, that are on objects, against my fingertips, and will make a point to position my fingers on said objects to avoid making contact with the stickers.
- I miss social cues.
- I can’t go five minutes without stimming.
- I dislike small talk but will talk tirelessly on why it’s counterproductive to hold onto a treadmill.
- I’ve always felt disconnected from people.
But I don’t need anyone to help me take care of myself. I do it all.
If You’ve Met One Autistic Person…
You should meet more! But also, keep in mind that autism comes as a spectrum.
Within each of the three levels of autism is a “subspectrum.”
So while the YouTuber may require support from family or an agency in order to live independently despite a Level 1 diagnosis, and while there are certainly other Level 1 Autistics who require similar support, there are also certainly other Level 1’s who don’t rely upon family members or agencies to be on top of the routine adulting tasks of daily living.
I don’t doubt that the YouTuber needs external support. I just wish she wasn’t painting a picture depicting that every person with Level 1 autism requires external support.
“If you’ve met one person with Level 1 autism you’ve met one person with Level 1 autism.”
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness, where she was also a group fitness instructor, she trained clients of all ages for fat loss and maintaining it, muscle and strength building, fitness, and improved cardiovascular and overall health. She has a clinical diagnosis of ASD.
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