what does spectrum disorder mean?

[bus boy]

I've been here for a while and have a hard time wrapping my brains around some things and spectrum disorder is one of them. Can someone please explain this to me?

[enlighten me]

It means its on a sliding scale from mild to severe. I.e on a scale of 1 to 100 1= not disordered 100- full blown.

[bus boy]

OK,  thank you. So xw is very high functioning, as I've posted, she has the same job for 18 years, very dependable, pays her bills very well, owns her own house has a nice car, rarely drinks. We had an evulation done, I'm codependant, xw results were very strongly suggested she had a personality disorder and would most likely carry this into her relationships. I can relate to her being more NPD. She is very cunning, devious, sneaky manuplator. Xw is very emotionally abusive, manuplates with sex, extremely belittling and condensing, withholds affection, will never give a compliment or say anything nice, really went out of her way to treat me like a dog and make me horrible about my self, took pleasure in hurting, threw my past in my face, crushed dreams, made my fears come true, belittled my accomplishments and my family. The outside world loves xw, thinks she's a great person. So where does a person like this fit on the spectrum disorder scale?

[enlighten me]

Its more to do with how much the disorder effects their day to day life. If it causes a few problems now and again its at the lower end of the scale. If its constant then the high end. My egf was high functioning most of the time but at home her behaviour was much worse than my low functioning ex wife.

[bus boy]

 I understand now. Xw day to day life seems to function well. She is high functioning. She get along well with a small core group of co workers. I said people thought xw was a great person but many of her co workers don't like her, xw has put me and my family out of her life, she has put her grandparents, all her aunts and uncles out of her life and her cousins. She tried relentlessly to get me to put my family out of my life and when she left me she said I could thank my family. Our house, when we were together was a very unhappy place. I begged xw to come to counselling but it made her furious, was dead set against it, her mother was dead set against it. We were ordered to counselling, xw said it was easier to leave so she did.