According to our doctor, people frequently refer to Asperger's as "High Functioning Autism" because the two share a lot of traits. Usually:

- A delay in motor skills
- Trouble interacting with peers and / or recognizing faces.
- Little understanding of abstract language, such as metaphors and humor
- Obsessive interest in specific items, information, and sensory input.

Kids is HFA and AS also tend to have normal (or above average) IQ, and the ability to "hide" some of their symptoms through training and concentration.

Some kids have symptoms that are so mild that they might even lose their diagnosis. It does not mean they were never autistic, it just means we have to re-think what we mean by "autistic".

I believe that doctors will eventually classify autism into nine or ten (or hundreds of) different disorders that only share a few symptoms. When you see ten kids with the same diagnosis, and they have ten different sets of symptoms, it is silly to assume that the same treatment is appropriate for each one.

It means their problems aren't very severe. They can usually grow up to take care of themselves and marry etc. They may have quirks.. like social issues or quiet or smart etc.

Our developmental pediatrician told us that 60% of children with "classic" autism (under the previous DSM-IV criteria) have an average-to-above-average underlying IQ and they are considered HFA. The other 40% have mental retardation and are considered LFA. So if a school is only for HFA, you would have to prove your child has an underlying IQ in the normal range.