Definition
High-functioning autism is a term used to refer to a subset of individuals on the autism spectrum who have cognitive and/or linguistic abilities that are in the average to above average range for their age. It is common for the acronym “HFA” to be used in place of the full term to describe individuals in this range of functioning.
Historical Background
In the first characterizations of the disorder, both Kanner and Asperger noted the average to above average intellectual capabilities in the individuals they observed, despite the significant social deficits that they displayed. Kanner argued explicitly in several papers that the deficits he saw were separable from intellectual disability, and that most of the children he encountered were of average to above average intelligence. Interestingly, Asperger used the “special gifts” of the children he observed to advocate for their protection from the Nazi eugenics movement (Feinstein, 2010).
Historically, testing IQ in children...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences and Readings
Alpern, G. D. (1967). Measurement of “untestable” autistic children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 72(6), 478–486.
Alpern, G. D., & Kimberlin, C. C. (1970). Short intelligence test ranging from infancy levels through childhood levels for use with the retarded. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 75, 65–71.
Asperger, H. (1944). Die ‘autistischen psychopathen’ im kindesalter. Archive fur Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, 117, 76–136.
Baron-Cohen, S. (2009, November 10). The short life of a diagnosis. New York Times, A35.
DeLong, G. R., & Dwyer, J. T. (1988). Correlation of family history with specific autistic subgroups: Asperger syndrome and bipolar affective disease. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18(4), 593–600.
DeMyer, M. K., Barton, S., Alpern, G. D., Kimberlin, C., Allen, J., Yang, E., et al. (1974). The measured intelligence of autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 4(1), 42–60.
DeMyer, M. K., Churchill, D. W., Pontius, W., & Gilkey, K. M. (1971). A comparison of five diagnostic systems for childhood schizophrenia and infantile autism. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1, 175–189.
Diehl, J. J., Wolf, J., Herlihy, L., & Moller, A. C. (2011). Seeing red: Are colors a window into implicit societal conceptions about the autism spectrum? Disability Studies Quarterly, 31(3). http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1676/1595.
Feinstein, A. (2010). A history of autism: Conversations with pioneers. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Frith, U. (1991). Autism and Asperger syndrome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ghaziuddin, M., & Gerstein, L. (1996). Pedantic speaking style differentiates Asperger syndrome from high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 585–595.
Howlin, P., & Goode, S. (1998). Outcome in adult life for people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome. In F. R. Volkmar (Ed.), Autism and pervasive developmental disorders (pp. 209–241). New York, NY: Cambridge University.
Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217–250.
Miller, J. N., & Ozonoff, S. (1997). Did Asperger’s cases have Asperger disorder? A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 247–251.
Miller, J. N., & Ozonoff, S. (2000). The external validity of Asperger disorder: Lack of evidence from the domain of neuropsychology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 227–238.
Szatmari, P. (2000). Perspectives on the classification of Asperger syndrome. In A. Klin & F. R. Volkmar (Eds.), Asperger syndrome (pp. 403–417). New York: The Guilford Press.
Szatmari, P., Bartolucci, G., & Bremner, R. (1989). Asperger’s syndrome and autism: Comparison of early history and outcome. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 31(6), 709–720.
Volkmar, F. R., Lord, C., Bailey, A., Schultz, R. T., & Klin, A. (2004). Autism and pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 135–170.
Wing, L. (1981). Asperger’s syndrome – A clinical account. Psychological Medicine, 11, 115–129.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Diehl, J., Tang, K., Thomas, B. (2013). High-Functioning Autism (HFA). In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_344
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_344
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1697-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1698-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science