Some people make it up

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KingdomOfRats,

People like that are really awful to be around. I've had a few online stalkers, although none nearly that intense. I also know someone who - after I was diagnosed - only talked about autistic symptoms that I described. Like literally she would only describe stuff I'd described. She's not on this forum or particularly harassing, thankfully.

I've also seen someone claim that another autistic person was actually stealing her autistic stories - I don't think that's what was happening, as there were multiple people involved in the bullying against the woman in question (the one who was accused of stealing another person's self-accounts of autism).

dianthus,

Agreed. That study was rather illuminating.

What about ADHD? Is it easier to fake than autism? I think that I could fake ADHD verry merry berry well, as people already think I have ADHD based on my behaviors.

I think it may be easier to fake, especially PI type.

I think I could do well faking combined type ADHD. I display inattentive and hyperactive traits to other people much of the time, but that is just how I appear to people. For some reason, these traits don't affect me much internally, I don't know how to eggsplain it.

I think the "one person with autism" thing makes it easier to fake autism, because deviations from autism can be easily eggsplained by I am one unique person with own unique autism.

Perhaps your doctor was trying to discourage you from getting a diagnosis.

I am sure people pretend autism for all kinds of seemingly senseless reasons. Anyone who's done their homework would know there is little to gain economically from pursuing this avenue for economic benefit - eg dept of social services in Australia have no genuine understanding of ASDs and will deem anyone as "high functioning" as being "fit to work". So it's not a pass to successful malingering, for instance.

A friend of mine living with CP tells me there is a small subculture of people who sexually fetishise "physical impairments" like CP, even spending their wages on the accoutrements of wheelchair-bound existence, presumably to pass as disabled. You might find evidence of this online.

ADHD is an extremely misunderstood, mischaracterized, and mislabeled disorder. That's the only reason it might be easy to fake. I think it would be very difficult to fake ADHD in the presence of someone who is really knowledgeable about it, but the average doctor or psychologist doesn't know that much about it. Some only know stereotypes and misconceptions, and the person who wants to fake it will probably be acting out those stereotypes and misconceptions, so neither party really knows the difference.

And I would bet that most people who want to fake ADHD, do it for the drugs, not the diagnosis. I don't know how it is now, but I can attest that in 1996 a teenager could get Ritalin very easily from a GP without having a formal diagnosis. But I would guess that doctors are more guarded about it now. Back then the only reason my doctor was hesitant to prescribe it was because I was very thin. He thought I might be trying to get Ritalin to use as an appetite suppressant. I said no, and explained why I suspected I had it, and he wrote me the prescription, and gave me refills, even though I was not formally diagnosed until about 6-7 months later.

In my experience doctors have always been all too eager to write prescriptions, without taking time to be sure the medication OR the diagnosis is correct. So it is very easy to "fake" almost anything that has a corresponding medication, especially if there is no physical test to confirm the diagnosis, in fact you don't have to "fake" much at all, you just ask for the prescription and voila, they write one.

Autism diagnosis has gone up by 40X since the DSM IV especially in the so called "high functioning" types. This has pissed off some powerful groups. The most obvious is the insurance companies who have to pay out claims, also school districts and taxpayers who have to pay for accommodations, as well as all the industry that is gaining wealth from "low functioning" children(drug companies, research and charitable organizations, psychiatrists and psychologists). Also for scientific reasons you always have had a group of professionals who never thought "high functioning" is real Autism.

If there is an "epidemic" people need something to blame. "Overdiagnosis" has become the favorite explanation because it seems logical. Faking it is part of this "overdiagnosis" explanation. Disability fraud has become fodder for stressed out taxpayers, for others, especially older generations who are fearful and do not understand the changed world it becomes yet another reason why the things are falling apart, more proof that the younger generations are hopelessly spoiled.

We know we are susceptible to manipulation and have been manipulated so suggestions that there are hordes of Aspie wannabees will seem believable for many of us.

I suspect that some people who hate the idea of Autism advocacy and Aspie identity are deliberately putting this out because they know it will be believed.

Conspiracy or not this has bad consequences for us primarily mis,non and undiagnosis. We know this is part of the reason the DSM 5 got rid of Aspergers. The young women who produces the "A Girl Outside the Box" videos has been diagnosed with Münchausen syndrome and Münchausen syndrome by proxy. Her advocacy and known female traits were used as proof that she was faking it. Doctors are understandably reluctant to treat her or her child. While I don't know if she is faking it I envision this happening more often. I would not be surprised that fictitious disorders will eventually be considered a co morbid of ASD.

I'm quite sceptical, I do think there are people that want to be diagnosed - there was a recent thread on here where the OP said they didn't have any signs of autism as a child, but were still going to be evaluated. ?

And the OP looked for a blank expression as a baby as a possible sign. ?

I think autism is becoming a convenient explanation for mental illness, and for people who have some social problems - NTs get bullied, they become alienated and they become alone. I think for people who have had difficulties in life autism becomes a cause - and people want answers. You see people on here post threads quite eager to be recognized as autistic. That it's finally an explanation. However some think they're autistic on the most tenuous of grounds. And clinicians seem quite guilty of this too.

I'm completely sympathetic for these people, but these people's problems are psychological. There are labels for their problems - social anxiety, avoidant personality disorder, shyness - and often it's due to how people have treated them, issues of self-esteem and so on... But there are people who want a more concrete explanation. Of course these people might feel that these existing labels don't explain their problems, but it does seem that these same people have no issues accepting autism, even if it doesn't quite explain their problems either. Even Uta Frith has touched on this issue.

What are they going to do to make these people happy, maybe we should have a late-onset autism category? Or a circumstantial autism category, for people who are autistic in certain circumstances, or tangential autism? For those who are so atypically autistic they barely display any of the core features.

And I'm sceptical of the claim it's hard to get diagnosed. I think a member on this board said it was easier than getting diagnosed for BPD.


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