Noor Pervez, an Autistic activist, further explained to me why functioning labels are both inaccurate and harmful. “ ‘Low functioning’ is used to deny agency to disabled people who have high support needs,” he states, “while ‘high functioning’ is used to deny resources to people who can mask their disability well. Any person’s support needs can shift from year to year, or even day to day, making ‘functioning’ a flawed concept.”
