in the top few per cent of individual achievers

[intokaos]

Hello, I am translating this for Survival Strategies for People on the Autism Spectrum by Marc Fleisher and I am not quite sure about the meaning of "individual" here:

Anyone with autism who is in a position of having a book publication opportunity come their way is already in the top few per cent of individual achievers and should feel proud of themselves.

I would appreciate your help.

Thank you.

 

[owlman5]

Hello, intokaos. I suppose that Fleisher has used "individual achievers" to mean "individuals who have achieved something remarkable even though they have been diagnosed with autism". This use of "individual" looks strange to me. If I were translating the work, I'd be tempted to avoid that phrase and look for another way to express the idea.

 

[bennymix]

'Individual achievers' simply means 'persons who achieve.' Since the context involves persons, the word 'individual' could almost be left out.

 

[intokaos]

I was thinking about the possibility that individual means by themselves, without any kind of help...

 

[owlman5]

I was thinking about the possibility that individual means by themselves, without any kind of help...

Perhaps only Fleisher truly knows what Fleisher meant, intokaos. That interpretation seems unlikely to me, but others may agree.

 

[intokaos]

You made me laugh Owlman xD only Fleisher knows...

 

[Myridon]

I was thinking about the possibility that individual means by themselves, without any kind of help...

This is the way I read it. Compare to: individual sports vs team sports.