I agree. I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism when I was younger, and assumed that autism referred to people fairly similar to me. Then my daughter was

I agree. I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism when I was younger, and assumed that autism referred to people fairly similar to me. Then my daughter was born. She's extremely low-functioning with only basic non-verbal communication (pulling me to the door means "let's go outside"; pulling me to the kitchen means "I'm hungry"). We've done PECS boards, AAC devices, ASL, etc, and she'll use them occasionally but they frustrate her. She has almost no instinct of self-preservation and a fascination with water, so will eagerly jump into a body of water if she has the chance; likewise when we go for a walk she doesn't understand that she can't just run out into traffic. Screaming and self-injury are constant and extreme. Which is to say that I don't think she and I have the same condition. Maybe there's a common genetic basis, but her quality of life is unimaginably worse. I get annoyed often by the 'disability advocates' who more resemble me and want to speak for people like her.