i would just like to point out something that seems to me is not often enough examined: by employing the LINEAR concept of "low"--"high" we are obviating the palpable impact of circumstances & surroundings--indeed, i believe these are greater determinants of response than one's place on the "spectrum".
when my wife & i are with people i don't know, i notice she apologizes for me not saying much (or anything) & says, "he does talk"; when i am with people i trust & know well i can be actually quite verbose. likewise for spaces that are comfortable (close, familiar, not intensely loud or bright)--things i know about & can to some degree compensate for, but it takes an effort (occasionally an extreme effort) to overcome--versus, say, WalMart, an amusement park, or airports.
having a clear purpose, like a thread in the labyrinth.
and the whole sequence is important also. if i have had to drive in heavy traffic for an hour, even reaching a comfortable destination doesn't do me much good at first, & for some time thereafter.
i learned to travel early to the site of job interviews, & wait leisurely at a separate location to calm down. or the thought of having to leave on a similar journey, at a preordained time: this also jangles.
so you see that tests performed in a "lab" environment, travelled to from home, in themselves create a distortion-effect that is not considered part of the result.
i believe most people with whatever degree of aut-spectrum impairment could function in a society that granted them the possibility of secure spaces wherever they went, & peaceful transit thereto; even those whose are practically nonverbal.
but this is too utopian. it would be enough, just to take away the BLAME.
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