"Self diagnosis" trends...source of ridicule

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To be honest, I've met a lot more people claiming that other people aren't autistic than people who are clearly faking it claiming that they have it. I think the real fad is people are pretending that they have the power to undiagnose people online for some reason. Even when that person decides to upload personal information about themselves like their medical records and such to prove the diagnosis, people still don't believe them. Yes, this happens- I've been on websites lwhere people would show their personal information and would still be called a fraud.

I mean, when people don't believe the person's f*****g medical records, those people afre simply hopeless.....

Also, this is why the US needs national health insurance because so many people have little access to services that they are entitled to because they can't afford the diagnosis. I think it's really sad because whether the person suspects a diagnosis of AS or not, they're trying to get a diagnosis, not because they are trying to be trendy but because they NEED it. They self diagnose (I suppose) because they know they have a mental disorder and they go to communities to get help. As a community, we must be supportive, even if we do doubt their claims. We don't know them, what they've had to go through and if they were or were not diagnosed. All that matters is that we do the right thing and help these people because they obviously need support. If it so happens that person did not have AS but some other condition, don't shame them- they needed your help at the time and they are still very much part of the community.

I know two people who have done that and people still called them a fake. That's why I won't bother with posting mine and I do have my medical records now saying I have it.

I even met someone in real life who claimed to have Hitler syndrome (I don't remember the exact name) and people have called her a liar in the chat rooms so she posted her medical information to prove it and guess what? "That's fake." Yep people are too stupid to admit they are wrong so they rather believe something is fake. Maybe it has to do with pride. People can't admit they are wrong, people want to be right so they will find excuses to be right.

Yeah, it's kind of like the whole fiasco with Obama's birth certificate. A lot of people didn't wanna accept that he was american even though they saw the certificate (I think they actually made the claim that because it wasn't the full birth certificate that it wasn't good enough evidence).

People can be so silly!

I am self diagnosed (took several tests, some of them more than once). My daughter, however is professionally diagnosed. I came to realize my circumstance after reading all the books I had gotten referring to my daughter, and realized they applied to me. I saw all the stuff viewed as wacky/odd etc. over the years that I displayed was in fact my AS at work. Oh, and how did my daughter's analyst test her definitively? With a test, similar to mine, but geared toward her age. I have no problems with how one is diagnosed, but I think having a standard test which checks various known areas of AS/NT deviation is a good idea.

ShogunSalute wrote

I would sincerely like to see any rigorous research indicating the prevalence of false self-diagnosis. Although I have an open mind on this matter, I have difficulty understanding why people would do this and doubt that it is wide-spread. I am, however, willing to change my opinion.

By the way, I do understand the basics of google, and have in the past been successful in finding a number of research papers (not opinions or comments from self-styled experts) on autism. I have never seen any research directly pertaining to the accuracy of self-diagnosis.

ShogunSalute, would you describe some of the difficulties that people you work with and who have a professional diagnosis experience?

And research studies are very stringent in their selection criteria; they routinely confirm the participants' diagnoses in the course of the study using the ADOS and other such instruments.

For this reason, research participants form a far more uniform group than clinical groups.

The self-diagnosed should not be put off posting on this board by any of the claims made here. Wrong Planet does not exclude anyone on the basis of diagnosis and welcomes all groups.

Isnt that like creating a sockpuppet account? People arent allowed to have more than one account or share accounts. It is silly to rail against people for not getting a diagnosis and then breaking rules yourself.

I was thinking about that too. I was in Montana visiting and my dad was in the car talking with my brothers about Obama who wasn't president yet but it was after he won the election. He was saying how people think he is a muslin and not born in the USA but his birth certificate says he was and people still don't believe it. They say it's fake and he said it was because they're stupid. I said "No people just don't like to be wrong so they find excuses. They want to be right."

My dad and I have the same attitude about stuff.

I don't think this is the case here. The posts contain the same grammar, spelling, use of emphasis, word use, tone, and style.

I find it absolutely astounding that anyone conducting anything approaching legitimate and robust research, could fail to check the diagnostic status of the subjects.

Some researchers require proof of diagnosis and then reassess all subjects included, some rely on documentation of previous diagnosis, some will agree to diagnose subjects themselves if they cannot get enough subjects with existing diagnoses. No good researcher would ever rely on taking the word of the subjects at face value without further checking. This is true whether the condition being studied is blindness, diabetes, or Aspergers Syndrome.



I find “over diagnosis” by professionals highly unlikely frankly. I expect some professionals have less than sufficient knowledge and make errors in respect of any condition, but I doubt that this is significantly worse in respect of AS than any other condition in the first twenty years of its original inclusion in the DSM.

With respect to research, why not look at the evidence from that? Research into prevalence indicates that ASDs occur in around 1% of the population. This is a much higher rate than earlier research indicated. We can exclude over diagnosis as prevalence studies take steps to specifically reassess a significant proportion of the members of the diagnosed population to check for clinically significant levels of misdiagnosis. This method actually tends to underestimate true prevalence because only diagnosed people are included so undiagnosed members of the population are excluded.

I suggest the reason diagnostic rates are increasing, is because people are learning how to identify and diagnose spectrum conditions other than non verbal Kanner type Autism. I suggest if every person who had the expertise to diagnose AS ten years_ago, had spent all their working hours doing so, and their clients had been restricted only to people who did have AS (no false negative referrals), that the world’s pool of experts would not have had the time to diagnose the world’s population of AS effected individuals. In fact even today there are not enough adult diagnosticians to assess all effected adult individuals currently without diagnosis.

It would be rather astounding and frankly indicative of a “sham diagnostic” if there had not been a significant increase in diagnosed cases following inclusion of the condition in the DSM and a significant increase in people who can recognize potential ASDs (to make referrals) and people who can diagnose AS type ASD.

It's exactly like a sock-puppet account, Zen Mistress, and I'm glad someone else is as disturbed by it as I am. It seems very dishonest to me, even if this person has now confessed to what they're doing. We have no idea to whom we're speaking (or, in my case, who's posts I'm lurking and reading) and that bothers me a great deal. If they honestly want to do what they claim, they should sign up for their own account, not hide within someone else's.

ShogunSalute, do you actually have Asperger's and are using someone else's account. I just wonder because I did think you were NT from the what you first wrote.

Ya know it seems strange to me that if you were to look at the threads with the highest post counts the quickest it's always the self-dx controversy. Every few wks one pops up. People with legitimate questions, and some in the haven with problems, and in need of support, go ignored, or barely noticed. Instead we choose to spend our energy here, making people feel unwelcome, and possibly scaring off new members. If I happened upon this site on a day where this thread (or any like it) was prominently displayed on the first page I'd not come back. I've encountered it on other AS sites, and I never, once went back.

And, no it wouldn't matter if I had an official dx. It's the attitude of bickering, and arrogance that irritates me. I try to spend my time around positive people, doing positive things. I choose not to give my energy to negative people that are trying to pick a fight by saying inflammatory things.

Not sure if it's been mentioned but he might not be able to create his own account as the board might be set up for one per IP address.

There are plenty of things a self diagnosed cancer sufferer can be mistaking his supposed illness for. There aren't many things that can be mistaken for AS.

Last edited by racooneyes on 11 Oct 2009, 9:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Hi,

I'm not answering any more questions, there are too many and all the answers can be found in previous posts of mine. But I don't think you guys read before you post anyways, just blindly flail and post.