What is high functioning autism?

Not a diagnosis: The term "high functioning autism" is a term usually referring to individuals who have some but not all symptoms of autism. It is not truly a diagnosis and usually covers a large spectrum of people who do not have autism but have many similar symptoms, such as social awkwardness, a need for extreme structure in their lives and difficulties with reading others' emotional cues.

Depends on which DSM: Terms for autism are going to change in may, at least for U.S. Psychiatrists. High functioning autism was often a term used for asperger's or pervasive developmental disorder. Dsm-v moves away from separate categories to a term of autism spectrum disorder, and different categories of severity in impairment of functioning. The criteria have been tightened up - pdd was a very loose diagnosis.