Levels of Autism: How Many Are There and What Do They Mean?

I want to preface this post by saying that I have received many questions about autism classification. I believe that a set of symptoms or criteria is not exhaustive of the full personality and struggles a person with autism - or any other condition - might face, so I wouldn’t strictly rely on this classification. Whether you live in a country where this classification is provided or not, I believe your purpose is likely the same: 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.

I encourage people to approach this classification as a simple guideline that can help you understand where a person with autism is at, what their struggles and needs might be, and how best to respond to them. We also have to be realistic and acknowledge that, in some countries, this type of classification may be necessary to access specific support services - so it can have a functional use.

That said, we all know that 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 - hopefully for the better - so the way we support someone with autism should evolve with them as they grow and change throughout their life. I urge everyone to never stop observing and learning from the person in front of you. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. That will give you the most precious insights for finding the best ways to support them.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦

In many countries, not all of them, autism is often classified into 3 levels based on the amount of support an individual needs in daily life. These levels are defined by the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), which is widely used by clinicians and specialists.

𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟏 (𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭): individuals can speak and communicate, but may struggle with social situations, organisation, or flexibility. They need some support to function in daily life;

𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟐 (𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭): marked difficulties with verbal and non-verbal communication, social skills, and flexibility. Support is needed more frequently and is more intensive;

𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟑 (𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭): severe challenges in communication, social interaction, and behaviour. Individuals may be minimally verbal or non-verbal and need significant, ongoing support.

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

It’s important to understand that these levels 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝; a person’s level can change over time with development, intervention, or changes in their environment. Additionally, the levels 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 - they reflect support needs, not cognitive abilities or potential. Diagnosis is always individualised, meaning that 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐬, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭.

This system helps guide interventions and services, but 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥’𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡.