high-functioning

[hahy-fuhngk-shuh-ning]

adjective

1. noting or relating to a person with a disability, chronic illness, or mental health issue who is able to fulfill more activities of daily living than others with the same condition.

   Psychiatrists called their child high-functioning during the autism assessment.

   It can be difficult for loved ones to spot the signs of high-functioning alcoholism.

Usage

Both high-functioning and its less-common cousin low-functioning are frequently used in older literature to describe how much assistance an autistic person needs with activities of daily living. However, low-functioning can be demeaning, while high-functioning can be used to ignore a disability or illness and deny a person the help they need; thus, these terms are often considered offensive by many people in the autism community. They may also be considered offensive by those who are neurodivergent in other ways or who have chronic illnesses.

Word History and Origins

Origin of high-functioning¹

First recorded in 1915–20, for the earlier sense “functioning at a high level”; 1985–90, for the current sense

Example Sentences

Private equity, hedge funds, venture capital: For ambitious and high-functioning individuals, making morally disinterested, data-driven strategic decisions is the most obvious path to wealth and status.

From Slate

He wanted to study high-functioning voice hearers, and a gathering of psychics seemed like a good place to find them.

From Salon

Powers and his colleague, Philip Corlett, a psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, reached out to other high-functioning voice hearers through local clinics as well as certain religious communities where voice hearing was common.

From Salon

She described herself as disciplined, high-functioning, healthy.

From Slate

For Karsh, the loss of Becca was so totally consuming that it threatened to eat him alive, driving him to a kind of high-functioning, tech-forward lunacy.

From Salon