Faking autism and Faking aspergers

Post Reply New Topic

I just think that you couldn't fake Autism, as there are big huge warning signs all through childhood. I can believe it for Aspergers though, and it sickens me, as it's hard to get people to believe us without this fakers!

There's lots of fake aspies on these sorts of sites.
It's not best for people with no medical background and psychological problems to diagnose themselves.
I don't mind though, if it makes people feel better to give themselves a label, then it is a positive thing. Personally, I wasn't diagnosed until later in life and I think I have benefited from this.
It is like a fashion nowadays though, people like being labelled; it's even a crutch for the lazy maybe.
I do see why it frustrates the real asspies, but i do think it is laughable.

interesting post............so you mean people can unintentionally latch onto AS even if they dont have it.

well that would make sense to me. I really identify with all of these symptons for AS. And also some Social phobia as well. It seems as though iv kinda latched onto AS. But somehthing is wrong with me, I dont identify with "extreme AS and autism cases" like what most people with AS would think it is ( extreme geek , little professor).

I dunno though someone in my family has AS too a relative......so ill be damned if I dont actually have then hopefully someone can tell me just what the hell is F****** wrong with me

Faking mental illnesses becomes a kind of life-occupation, especially starting with teens (a small, very small percentage). They love it. It gives them incredible attention from family and others. And for the first time, maybe love, care, sympathy. And medical attention, including doctors who care about them, hospitalizations (psychiatric) where they care about them. They may fake Schizophrenia. Acting the part vividly. Claiming "hearing voices" and claiming "seeing things". They know what Schizophrenia is already. Now they're acting the part.

And DID (multiple personality disorder), they love playing this role. It's a new occupation, and they can affect others, make others pay attention to them, get sympathy, medical treatment, get talked about.

Both of these are challenges, jobs, occupations, that they make their new job in life.

Point: this is FAR better than the life they previously had. This is why they do this.

"I can act crazy and get all this attention!"

As for autism, same thing. But more difficult with autism is when you start faking it later in life, because, most people know it begins at birth and stays relatively consistent in most fundamental ways. What if people from your past find out that you're presenting yourself as autistic, especially non-verbal autistic? And what if they start saying things and trying to hold you accountable?

The faking that starts with teens can persist through adulthood. It's a major part of their lives. And you can note the evolution of their ever changing claims. Yet some may stay with one claim and sustain that. But usually they try a few major mental heath conditions, over time, and then find the one they like to emulate/fake the best.

They are masters of malingering. They read about these disorders and study people with the disorders, and over time, they refine their acting abilities to play the part better and better. They can, easily, convince any doctor and anyone.

They do not work in public, and rarely go in public. In private, they are themselves. No one is watching. In private they do not "stim", they look at whatever they want, they talk as needed. In public, it's time to show everyone the vivid disorder.

Do you really think that the only "real aspies" are the ones who have been diagnosed? This still baffles me, this logic that it is absolutely false until one doctor (even out many) can tell you the dx you are looking for. Then after that it is absolutely true. I still had athsma attacks before my doctor agreed with me that I must have athsma. Does that mean all the times before my dx I must have been faking it, and all the times after it was genuine? I didn't need a doctor to tell me what an athsma attack looks like, I knew what it felt like. I only needed the dx to get the meds. It's like having an apathetic parent sign your homework. You did all the work on your own, the parent's not going to take the time to look at any of it, but you still need the signature to show the teacher.

What baffles me even more is this little theory going around that Asperger's is in vogue. Where the heck does that come from anyway? Do people really actually think AS would be an attractive disorder for normal people to emulate? As sure as I am that I probably have it, I've only told my mom. I really don't think that anyone that thinks they have it really actually believe they are going to win any popularity contests with it. People already avoid me plenty without me broadcasting my AS suspicions to them. It might get me my 15 minutes of fame from a handfull of people, but then what? There might be a few people who will do anything for attention, even if it's bad attention, but you guys make it sound like AS is the new black. I really doubt that there is a huge following of people pretending it because it's just so cool. Even the name is embarrassing. I'm not saying that AS itself is a bad thing, but it's no way to get admiration and respect from the general public.

I just remembered that the movie "When Do We Eat" has a storyline which basically covers this idea. In the movie, the boy in question had been misdiagnosed as severely autistic as a young child and then kept up the act as he got older even though he was actually capable of coherent speech and was not in any way intellectually impaired. His motives were at least partially non-selfish, as when he was caught he said that part of the reason he did this was because he realized his "autistic outbursts" were a good way to stop his parents from fighting. (But pretending to be severely autistic also allowed him to play videogames 24/7 without anyone stopping him.) The movie was highly entertaining, but basically nothing about it was very true-to-life and there are all sorts of logistical problems with believing this scenario anywhere outside of an outrageous comedic movie. (First off, how'd he know how to act "autistic"?)

I'm not necessarily doubting that faking autism is possible, but frankly a lot of stuff on this thread seems purely speculative. Who are these people and where are they? Any actual examples? It sounds a bit like an urban legend. autism0's suggestions about why someone would do this are wholly unconvincing to me. "Crazy" people rarely get attention, except in the worst possible way. Someone's life would have to be pretty bad indeed for a life of institutionalization to be preferable. I can see how this idea is possibly appealing at first to a troubled teen, but I think it'd probably get old pretty quickly and that most would miss doing the kinds of "normal" activities they're used to. Anyone who would even think of doing this probably has another mental condition going on with them. There aren't many teens/adults with autism diagnoses, and presumably most of these diagnoses are legitimate. The idea of an autism spectrum is pretty recent, after all, and if a teenager is going to be diagnosed with anything then his or her parents are certainly involved. If any teens really are faking autism, it might be more likely that the parents are corroborating. In short, I'm not convinced that this idea is any more real than that of the "welfare queen" who collects six different paychecks.

you guys are forgetting one thing..............in order to have to want to fake having AS and such....................ITS clear you would have to have huge mental disorders. There is clearly something wrong with these people. NTs don't just try and fake having some mental disorder. If you do that you are not an NT. There is something wrong there

And....what about all the people on here who know something is wrong with them and they haven't known their whole life they have AS? All the people that have been trying to act "normal" their whole lives but have never seemed that way???? Does that mean that they probably don't have it because they don't have noticeable symptoms and they are just trying find a scapegoat????

I really beleive I have AS.....however i pretend that I dont. I always try to appear normal. Yet at 20 yrs old and I know theres quite a lot of things about me that dont add up in an NT's world its obvious that there has been something wrong with me.

iv consistently gotten very high scores on all of those quizzes.............

all im saying its possible for somone to want to latch onto AS and try to fake. but at the end of the day i doubt much more than a very very small % of people are that messed up in the head to try to fake something that isnt popular.

To use this as a scare-tactic saying that most people on here are doing this is blantantly wrong.

Again, you're over reading; if one doctor feels that you don't have this disorder when you bring it up (this has never happened to me BTW); one can ask for another opinion, and if they say the same thing, well one can conclude that it's most likely you don't have it.

Saying you have it, but without a formal diagnosis, is a lie (i.e., you aren't sure you have it, and you know this for to be sure you must be assessed). How hard is it for you to see the logic in that?

See #1:


sinsboldly,

As I said, one can think they're anything if they so wish, it doesn't mean they have it; the people who define it, who treat it, who diagnose it; these people are the ones who say you have it or not. And there's nothing "lucky" about having an ASD. Anyone who thinks it's "exclusive" (a connotation of superiority attached), I'd question their knowledge of the disorders.

autism0,

Is there anyone in particular you're talking about?

Another "YOU DON'T HAVE AUTISM THREAD."

People, why entertain a troll?

Believe it or not, it started out as a perfectly innocent thread about people who fake the condition to gain some sort of benefit. If you wade through those posts, you'll see some pretty coherent arguments in there.

Yes, I really have a problem with deception, though that is not surprising since I was deceived for twenty years or more by a friend that other people could see within a short time was someone who conned their way through life. People can believe what they like about themselves and can genuinely make mistakes about themselves, its when they know they are deceiving others to gain something from it that I cannot accept.

OH, I am the SAME way! Daniel seems like a nice guy, even if he IS a bit too trusting of doctors, etc.... and against people that self diagnose. It is kind of nice to come to his defense in this manner.

With ME, I know it started EARLY, because of a similar thing. Some people tried to get me to believe some pretty stupid things.

I'm not against anyone, nor am I trusting of anyone; self-diagnosis plus a professional assessment is all I advocate for one to be completely sure they have the disorder. Professor Attwood who is revered around here will tell you this is the way to go.

I'm such a stickler for the truth in this regard for I don't like people who purvey falsehoods about a disorder they might have, but they might not have; this isn't directed at anyone specific. Myth is born out of misconception.

I'm of the self-diagnosed type, then "official" at 25 in the same few months, so I'm aware of the importance of self-diagnosis (I wouldn't have known if it wasn't for my own research after all).

then it a poorly made troll...u know its not saying u dont have autism..its about nt,s who fake it ..they are rare but they exist

Doesn't Dr. Tony Attwood 'congratulate' those people he diagnoses with AS? Would you question his knowledge of the 'disorder?'

I am curious why this subject is so important to you, Danielismyname. In my life, I would have been faking a condition I knew nothing about and had no information of for about 60 years. What good would it do me to fake something no one knew about?

Merle