Tiktok + people faking disorders

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To make a Tiktok video requires little thought due to the very short time limits. An app that really is a glorified selfie and requires little thought is a attention seeker heaven.

That makes sense.  Thanks!

(No wonder Twitter is so popular, too!)

If you look at the DSM-V(or whatever it's called in your country) they actually have specific criteria for you to be classified as being on the autism spectrum but, what is going on is that people are using traits and stereotypes to either self-diagnose themselves or find a doctor who just gives the diagnosis to placate the person(or the doctor doesn't know any better and go by the same criteria the person is using). The core thing about autism is social skills, everything else are sub-categories BUT, if your social skills are just fine you are most likely not on the spectrum. You could have another mental health issue but it isn't autism.

I see too many people that claim to have autism but, socialize just fine, have friends, has a job, Drivers License, some are married, basically the average life of any person. If you point out these things they will fight you tooth and nail(or get you banned) to protect this view they have. It's like the autism is their entire identity.

That is why I keep having to repeat: AUTISM IS A DISORDER NOT A PERSONALITY TRAIT!

It is a misnomer that the core autism trait is just social skill deficits. The DSM-V as you pointed out references social skills but it equally references repetitive behaviors. If you have just Social Skills deficits the DSM-5 has a separate diagnosis for that Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder.

The problem is that Autism stereotypes are centered around social awkwardness and many if not most clinicians do not fully understand autism. These less informed clinicians will diagnose only on the social stuff because that is what is visible to most people.

I would not make the mistake of "diagnosing" a person and not being autistic just because their life is seemingly normal at the moment(married, job, etc). One needs to look at the person's entire life and if they can function once they are not interacting with other people.

Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 02 Aug 2022, 3:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I struggle to understand why anyone would want to fake a disorder.

That person was Lorna Wing, kind of. She was doing a prevalence survey and noticed a lot of people that were impaired by Autism traits but did not come close to the diagnostic criteria for Autism at the time. So in 1981, she proposed Asperger Syndrome as a way to diagnose ASD without calling it Autism with its associated ret*d stereotype. The idea was parents would be more willing to get their kids assessed. Through her lobbying efforts with help from awareness raised by the movie "Rain Man" the Aspergers diagnosis was added to both main manuals.

What Wing and her supporters did not anticipate was at the same time the Aspergers diagnoses were added to the manuals the internet became available to the general public and Aspergers and Autism went viral causing the ASD prevalence rate to skyrocket. Something had to be blamed so it was not increasing awareness due to the loosened diagnostic criteria, it must be vaccines, it must be overdiagnosis that 'seemingly' put every awkward person on the spectrum, it must be a bunch of fakers using Autism as an excuse to attach themselves to be "trendy" or to excuse bad behaviors, etc.

I have known several people diagnosed as children who socialize well, I remember one girl who was diagnosed with PDD NOS over 20 years ago. She had learning disabilities, and her theory of mind is quite strong and she can infer mental states and articulate surprisingly spontaneous responses. After years of follow-up, today her doctors believe she fits the Asperger's profile.

It is very confusing for me to know what is the limit in social skills, the reality is that I don't know many with those profiles but I have met a couple.

You shouldn't.

Because the reason for faking NT is different than for faking ASD. The guy in the OP's video lied to get donations, while people with actual problems need donations. Autistics may fake NT to avoid being fired from a job. This isn't the same as conning a million followers and taking money from them because the man faked autism.

I take issue that you imply that if a person has a job, driver's license and is married, that they're probably not autistic. There are many autistics who are married -- to NTs or to other autistics. There are autistic dating sites. Why would marriage be the mark of a neurotypical? It doesn't require a whole lot of executive function to be married. Jeez.

Second, why can't autistic people drive? I bet the autistics who drive are better than the crazed NTs who show off their sports cars, weaving in and out of traffic at 80 mph on highways, tail gaiting just to be a road bully, causing road rage incidents, texting while driving and crashing, driving while drunk..... I'd bet the roads would be a lot safer if ONLY AUTISTICS were given drivers' licesnes. I think my autism is what makes me a great driver. My brain processing speed is very superior, as shown by my assessment. I also have great attention to detail. These traits help make a good driver.

Having a job; are you SERIOUS??? Autistic people can make FABULOUS employees!! !! !! ! This hahsi been proven over and over. There's a trend now for companies to specifically seek out autistic people for positions that require sustained concentration and/or repetitive actions. Or attention to detail or a knack for problem solving. They can be very loyal, devoted employees.

However, some don't do well on the job due to being around people; or, they do well with the work, but a lot of employees dislike them. I hated working around people and have been working from home for many years, thank God.

Still doesn't bother me, MOST people who have their begging bowls out on social media are faking something.

If only this were true, then I wouldn't be on the spectrum. My social skills are similar to an NT's with social anxiety, plus most of my socially awkward traits are down to ADHD. Otherwise, for an ''autistic'', my social skills aren't bad - even though I don't have hardly any friends. But imagine the autistic people who DO seem to make friends well (with NTs), especially autistic teenagers and young adults. It still baffles me.

But I seem to excel in being in a relationship with an NT man. The first dating experience seemed so natural to me, it was so easy, and now it's 8 years later and we're still together (we live together now). I don't need to mask or consciously remember to show affection or anything. It's all so natural.

I wish they hadn't made the autism spectrum so broad that autism has lost its original meaning. I wish people like me were classed as not autistic but still neurodiverse.

My concern with only considering 'high support needs' as qualifying for autism is that daily living or home care is not the only thing autistics may need support for.
I'm 33 in graduate school and live independently but could not do that without accommodations and help that I would not get without an autism diagnosis. I would unnecessarily be on disability if I couldn't get accommodations and help to cope in and modify work environments designed specifically for allistics.

it's more like human race is full of that

Why fake having Autism just to get money? I didn’t know Autism is being disabled. I guess the same way people fake being disabled, so they can have SSI. What wrong with people? It’s soooooo wrong for people to fake something just to get money. There are real disabled people out there. Why people are soooooo bad?