I’m high functioning! Just ask all of my neurotypical friends! I’m high functioning… until I misplace something. Or I hear a loud noise. Or I reach an unknown area of the social script. Or I can’t stop feeling an unpleasant tactile sensation. Or someone treats me badly. Or my electronics won’t work. Or I’m hungry. Or I’m tired. Or I don’t have a solution for someone else’s pain. Or I have to engage with a task without being given time to analyze it. Or I’m not permitted to use a familiar system to handle a situation. Or things just don’t make sense. Or I’ve just been through too much in the past five minutes. Hour. Day. Week.

I’m not high functioning. That’s just a term neurotypical folk use to not acknowledge or straight up minimalize my issues on the occasions that I manage to avoid all of the above.