Faking autism and Faking aspergers

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Agreed - I'm curious about this as well. I wonder why. What is the payoff? Sympathy? Again, they have to be very mentally ill to go that far. My concern, along these same lines, is wondering if people that are diagnosed with Asperger syndrome will use it as a crutch to avoid people and the general responsibilities of living. Living has been very hard for me and I struggle with it daily. But just giving up on it (though I may want to) is inconceivable to me. The greatest day of my life was when I got my first apartment and no longer needed my family to support me and smooth things over for me. I was proud of the fact that I was now in some semblance of control over my own life. Recently I was 'attacked' by someone else in the Jobs & Working threads for suggesting that laziness wasn't a desired trait and to force yourself to do what you needed to do to support yourself as a person was more important than saying, "I've got AS, so I quit."



Munchausen's syndrome. Poeple so addicted to the attention they get from doctors and family/friends that it becomes their whole life. Some go so far as poison themselves or otherwise intentionally hurt themselves to "qualify" for medical attention. They are mentally ill and need serious help. What I find more sad is Munchausen's By Proxy, where they hurt their children or other family member for the same purpose.

Hey Jillian - I agree with what you are saying. I wonder also if for some, faking AS might be a case of wanting to belong to a group. WP is full of a lot of interesting people who are accepting (for the most part) even though many have strong opinions. It is a great group of people. There might be a tendency to exaggerate symptoms - to fit in. I'm not saying that anyone is doing this, but it might be theoretically possible.

Because it is fairly newly entering the public consciousness, AS is a hot and intriguing topic right now and a lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon (I think I just mixed metaphors).

Z

You don't like that your "Maybe some people don't really have autism" thread has changed focus to "Maybe you don't really have autism"? It was a natural and minor topic shift, especially given the rest of the content of this last post of yours.

As I said before, it doesn't bother me overly that there are people who might "malinger" autism. It bothers me more that there are people who will "back-seat diagnose" even if the person himself claims to be very sure and has doctors to back it up. If he can fool doctors well enough and long enough that he gets a diagnosis, then who is to say that he doesn't in fact have the disorder and his previous diagnoses were only the best guesses at the time?

But if you wish to second-guess motives: I'm annoyed that you seem to have started this thread in order to make us all complicit in your personal vendetta by getting us to agree to general possibilities/principles before you show that you mean one specific person.

WP is not just for people with autism, but also for people with ADHD and NTs who have family members with PDDs or ADHD. It's written on the front homepage.

I guess my point is, that I don't think a person would have to fake anything to be accepted here, as long as they're not rude or insensitive to people who do have PDDs or ADHD.

That's interesting. I guess it could be Munchausen's and DID also (in the individual he describes). Of course this is anecdotal, but the predominant theme I see in people with PDDs is extreme avoidance of going to doctors or dentists.

What a load of nonsense this is. I (with an official dx) would be upset if another aspie were to tell me that I'm really not, because I sometimes worry that I'm really just crazy in some kind of odd, unspecified way. The AS label doesn't fit absolutely perfectly, but it's the only thing which explains the problems which I have had throughout my life. I assume that many self-diagnosed people here appreciate the label for the same reason--it reassures them that they're not crazy or unlikeable or stupid. I suppose some people may "fake" AS, as I assume there are hypochondriacs for most any condition. I find it unlikely that any professional would actually buy into this, but it's not completely impossible that a talented hypochondriac could trick a doctor. It happens on TV, anyway. I'd think most hypochondriacs would be seeking sympathy, government money, or treatment (meds, even surgery). That's not really possible with just self-diagnosed Asperger's. If you're going to fake something, why not something that nets more tangible benefits?

Of all the actors in different movies and T.V. shows portraying individuals with autism or Asperger's you can tell they're just acting, even Dustin Hoffman. Genuine autism is very difficult to duplicate in real life.

oh, for goodness sake! I was diagnosed with Lupus a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood, and kidneys. After six months of being treated and not improving a passing rheumatologist in the same clinic saw me in the hall and diagnosed me on the spot with hypothyroidism, I started treatment (she wouldn't let me leave with out taking levothyroxine and a filled perscription of them with me. I improved rapidly and lost 30 lbs with in the first month.

All the time I thought I had Lupus I went to the support groups and was considered one of them. I went to the forums online and even had to take time off from college to 'recover'. I wasn't lying, I wasn't 'self diagnosed'. It was a mistake and 6 months later I was diagnosed with what was really going on and successfully treated.

so, I have been trying to organize a DX for what is going on with me. I have had three sessions with a LCSW who was kindly but clueless. What she knew about AS I told her. I had a session with the psychologist and he didn't know much more (" that is quite rare, actually, does this make you feel more important about yourself?" and "If you found out you actually were on the Autism Spectrum, would you rationalize you didn't have to learn social behaviour, and just have licence to be an ass towards others with a 'get out of jail free' card? " were some of the interesting things he said to me.)

anyway, it must be nice to have all that support you guys seem to find to help you with your diagnosis, to have people in your lives that care enough to want to get you treatment. It is not always that easy for others of us.

Merle

Totally agree with you there. i can't think of any practical reasons to fake Asperger's.

if an aspie is sitting home alone and no one is around to DX them... are they still an aspie?

Blimey!

After reading your story about your Lupus diagnosis, I think I am lucky in that I had two diagnoses in effect. One was an informal one from a psychotherapist who gave me advice on how to cope in the NT world, limited advice its true but some good clues; the other was an official diagnosis from a completely different kind of psychologist. Mind you, I had no doubts, all of the online tests I ever took and the associated tests always, without fail put me down as aspie lol

If a tree falls in the woods...

hell yeah!
I was just as much of an Aspie as I was before I heard about it. matter of fact that was the strangest thing about learning late in life. I was still me.


Merle

See this is exactly my point. You keep talking about doctors being the only ones with correct opinions, but then you suggest seeing as many doctors as it takes to hear the opinion you want to hear. And then, only then, is your condition now real and anyone else who sure otherwise (WHILE ADMITTING THEY HAD NO FORMAL DX) is telling lies. How do you follow this kind of logic?? And for all their holy experience, most of the doctors I've seen have been nothing more than pill peddlers. I told a doctor that I'm sure that I have athsma, guess what they did? Did they run tests, did they even ask questions? No! They gave me a damn inhaler! Which in that case was a good thing because I really did have athsma, but I might as well have been able to buy the thing over the counter instead of pay for an office visit for how involved in diagnosing me the doctor was. My "official" dx of athsma is overrated, I dxed myself and told the doctor what I needed. Like you said, self-dignosis can be an important tool in some cases where a doctor can't always see everthing you experience. I would get one for AS if I was sure that it wouldn't cost me a huge amount of money and haunt me more than help me. Would I really be able to get all of this magical help from the government that a handfull of people talk about, or would I just be digging myself into a big hole? BTW I might also suggest you look up the word "lie" in a dictionary. You're misuse of the word is becoming annoying.

The 'disorder' existed before you were born, and existed before I was born, as well. AS doesn't belong to you or me, or to the psychiatrists that DXed you, it belongs to everyone and anyone lucky enough to be born with it in graceful democracy. And just because someone thinks being chosen into an exclusive club and one must keep out the barbarians at the gate that would somehow sully the pristine superiority of the lawfully diagnosed, doesn't make it so!

Merle

SAME HERE!

I HAVE been diagnosed with Asthma, and allergies to peanuts and feathers. I don't think I have ANY of that! I have been diagnosed ADD and depressed. I think I have AS, for many good reasons. I feel the SAME about a DX as you.

As for the lie bit, people with an ASD(AS included) tend to have a low tolerance for things like deception also. I have said the same many times, and state people are yelling when they are surprised at the accusation. I thought it odd, but it turns out to be ANOTHER reason to believe I have AS. I can KIND of see daniel's point there though it IS, as you said, misplaced here.