Support needs describe the level of help someone requires in daily life. “Low support needs” means needing occasional or situational help. “High support needs” means needing consistent or intensive support.
These terms are preferred over labels like “high‑functioning” or “low‑functioning,” which can be harmful. They recognise that support can fluctuate depending on environment, health, stress, or available resources — it’s not a fixed measure of ability or independence.
Importantly, support needs are not related to intelligence or worth. A person may have strong intellectual or verbal skills and still require significant support with executive function, sensory regulation, or self-care. The aim of describing support needs is to identify what helps a person thrive, not to rank or categorise them.
A brief history
The language of “support needs” grew in autistic advocacy as a replacement for “high‑functioning” and “low‑functioning” labels, which were seen as harmful and misleading. The shift emphasises that needs vary across contexts and time, rather than being fixed traits.