If you are well organized, it is a healthy trait. no one would say you are "on the OCD spectrum".. but when that trait gets out of hand we would say you have OCD, and likely would be diagnosed as such.

I see (autism) ASD and ADHD as much the same way. Most people diagnosed with it who are high functioning dont really have it at all. It is just a personality trait and all in all a positive one. high-functioning ASD are just people without social hangups, good. And people with ADHD who are high-functioning are largely just amazing multi-taskers.

The harm in putting people on a spectrum is they see themselves asa diseased, broken, something that needs "consideration.. they arent, in most cases in the right proportions these "diseases" are in fact just super powers, things more people should wisht hey have really.

@freemo
They are different brain wiring though -whether or not you happen to live a life that disables you doesn't change the fact that you run a different "operation system".
I think this view plays into the pathologizing view of conditions like ADHD and autism. The harm in not "putting people on the spectrum" is perpetuating harmful preconceptions about them & what they mean for one's life. They also prevent people from having insights into how their brain works, should difficulties arise.

@freemo Functioning labels are not very useful, they are often used to dismiss autonomy or infantalize high-support need autistics. I've also heard many "high-functioning" autistic ppl/AuDHDers say that they're just high-masking & considering them high-functioning usually bars them from accessing support, so they struggle in silence. I'm that. I'm just one step away from burning out at all times but I'm highly educated,have job, partner, home, so am considered "high-functioning".

@AutisticDoctorStruggles

It is useful because if you are high functioni g, even through masking, then you do t have the disorder. By defi ition something is only a disorder when you are no longer high functioning.

It doesnt mean the personality trait isnt there, it just means it isnt manifesting in an unhealthy way in order to prevent you from functioning well.

A person who has episodes of OCD obviously has the tendency towards related personality traits. Just that in his healthier state they are not net negitives they are just perfectly normal and healthy parts of a personlity that he happens to have in common with others.

@freemo would disagree that autism/ADHD is a disorder, also it seems most of the ppl considered "high-functioning" are struggling.

You definition also means that a perfectly accommodated person has lost the disorder, which makes no sense to me.

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@AutisticDoctorStruggles I agree it shouldnt be seen as a disorder, thats my point But formally it is.

Yes high-functioning people are struggling. When you live in a world without social hangups and you have to be around people who do have social hangups (to the point I might even say most people have a personality disorder) then yea, you would struggle, any normal person would.

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