Is there such a thing as "Fake Autistic People"?

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Well..I saw a lady on documentary who wanted to be handicapped and to wear leg braces and be in a wheelchair. And she had some older aunt in her childhood who was handicapped and was forced to live that way as a "role model" so to speak that may have triggered the obsession. And the word this able bodied lady who longed to be handicapped used to describe her fascination with this aunts leg braces was "cool". As a child she would fondle and admire the leather brace things and think them "cool".

But regardless of how these folks conceptualize their desire its still (to most of us) off the charts bat s**t crazy. And my point was that there is every kind of rare bat s**t crazy in the world if you look for it. Wasnt really intending to go into an indepth discussion of the subject of body identity disorder.

This topic does indeed come up over and over again on WP. I can see how maybe new members just arrive here, have no idea this has been discussed ad nauseum, and start a thread like this. But on the other hand when that too happens a lot, I can't help but wonder if something else is going on.

New accounts all piling onto a thread about this old thorn in the side.

Maybe because some of us actually DO have autism and were properly diagnosed with this condition and we have had to deal with people like my neighbor who think that they can claim to be autistic while refusing to get an actual diagnoses and then try to tell people like me that they think we're not actually autistic just because we don't fit that media-reinforced stereotype of being like Einstein or Rain Man. Also I'm going to take a blind leap and just assume that there actually are some long-standing members of this forum who have possibly had to deal with that same issue and that it's not just the "new members" who say this.

Edit: Plus I'm technically not a new member I have come back to this website a few times for many years but each time I created a new account because frankly I don't like the internet that much I have to take long breaks from it before I can work up the desire to want to get back on to talk about things I feel like I can't talk about anywhere else. I find that the internet isn't exactly a great place for me to want to be social either.

I'm one of those who has also been greeted with the skepticism your neighbor puts on you, because I also don't fit the Rainman deal. But I'm also a member here who has been greeted with that same skepticism right here on WP, from other diagnosed autistic -- and yes I too am a diagnosed autistic.

The entire "everyone must be faking it" theme comes up regularly on WP and the skepticism spreads around not just regarding someone in a person's life who doubts their diagnosis, but starts up between people here too. People make references to the post content of other and then express doubt that certain people's diagnosis is valid.

It becomes a bone of contention on here a lot.

I know who that is. I also found it confusing so I think that person hasn't totally been honest about their diagnoses. But they did show their autism DX in their blog so they may be autistic but they are not that severe as they claimed to be. From my understanding that person did drugs so that has also wrecked them so it's not all autism related.

Not so much faking as wanting to be because: I think some people feel like they need to have a badge.



I think it's quite probable that some self-diagnosed aspies actually have psychological rather than neurological issues.



Me too.

But at the same time I am seeing what looks like some kind of smaller scale trend. Remember there's the whole special snowflake thing: super abilities at math, coding, hyperfocus, superior senses, superior memory, superior objectivity etc. that many say they adore and therefore would never seek any kind of cure for their (suspected) autism.

There are those who talk about being very into a perception of their "aspie superpowers" and who very intensely post about superior qualities, and the wish therefore to never be anything but autistic because it's such a strength, in their eyes.

While it might be easy to wonder about those "proud aspies" who believe they are an improvement upon NT, at the same time, perhaps that person may be someone who is simply trying to make the best of their condition, and the only way they know how to avoid feeling negatively about their diagnosis is perhaps to overcompensate with how great it is.

Rather than be someone who is suspiciously over-eager to be an aspie because they think it's so great, they could possibly be genuinely diagnosed (or diagnosable), but desperately finding ways to think positively about something they nearly think negatively about. Just my take on those folks.

I can't really know how they feel because I'm one who is more at the other end of that continuum, where I struggle to like anything much about this, and, far from proud or feeling like my traits are "superpowers,", I've decided not to disclose in my real life. And I'm terrible at math. My superpower is to detect crumbs in the bed the size of half an atom, and that's a sucky ability to have.

It wasn't just in the jobcentre, though having worked in such an environment I saw alot of claimants moaning about not getting their disability payments and you could clearly see they are fully capable of moving around, communicating clearly etc. and if one were to think at this situation logically, if they said they had autism for example wouldn't they have help like a parent/guardian with them to explain to the advisor that they can't do whatever prevents them from working. That situation I mentioned before, he was on his own (an ethnic minority i might add which my parents seem to think they have it easier than white people).

I also was in a sort of vocational rehab program designed for people with learning difficulties, where they'd get paid if you were to get a job through them, and nearly everyone there had excellent communication skills, some form of physical disability and I thought I was the odd one out as everyone knew how to engage with each other, form conversations and keep them running. I on the other hand just kept to myself, and the job adviser asked me to get involved, I told them I had AS and social anxiety, but they just threw me into the deep end nonetheless.

Since I usually dislike advocates, I'm guessing that this condition should usually mean that you want to be left alone or do things your own way.

Saying I think in a certain way is usually regarded in the same light as liking my eggs a certain way, because most everyone in public has an impediment, hitch, or gimp.

I agree that probably a lot of the time the "being autistic is great" thing is said is because of the reasons you pointed out. I think with kids it's something that sometimes gets hammered into them, to not let autism hold them back. That goes along with the "Superman is autistic too but he doesn't let that stop him" type thing.

It's all tricky stuff and I think it always will be. How do you encourage about having a serious neurological disability, without possibly making it sound trivial to a degree?

When someone has an amputated leg, there is no doubt that they are missing a leg and a missing leg is a serious thing, even if that person can run, ski and play basketball with a prosthetic. But it just doesn't work the same way with perceiving autism.



I sure can relate to that. Lol about the crumbs, same here.

I work in education as a one on one instructional assistant to a boy with autism. I've worked with about a dozen kids on the campus who have autism/ fall on the spectrum or who have other learning difficulties/disabilities/whatever you want to call it. Guess what I see? (Sarcasm ahead people) A whole spectrum of kids who have different personalities and behaviors! Say it ain't so?

In all seriousness, I see kids who are able to function/ get their work done and have some mild stimming in class when it gets too loud and have anxiety/ can function and learn without difficulty in most areas. Others, we have to work on teaching them basic living skills. And some, like my student, are somewhere in the middle area, have issues focusing/lots of stimming, concentration, organization, and processing issues. It's a spectrum. I, as an Aspie woman, fall somewhere differently than someone who falls under the classic autism umbrella with a more severe presentation. Temple Grand falls somewhere different than me. You fall somewhere different than me.

At the end of the day, what really matters is good chocolate Just kidding (kinda), but in reality, autism effects everyone differently and will manifest differently, just like anything else in life. Can we leave the poor dead horse alone now and stop poking it?