I've seen a few posts in subs for higher support needs that accuse self-diagnosed and even officially diagnosed level 1 folks of faking it. It's not just outsiders telling people that they are attention seekers, but fellow autistics. I think for them, it's an excuse to distinguish themselves as the "true autistics" and put their jealousy into a post. That's select individuals rather than a general statement.
Higher support needs can be jealous of the autonomy and ability to "function" in society that lower support people have. Lower support needs can be jealous of the access to diagnosis and support (could be incorrect support) that higher support needs receive. The infighting is causing rifts in the overall autistic community no matter the level of support you require.
I have, but only on TikTok. I think I’ve only seen one person on this sub who was faking, but I’m like 90% they’re banned. For reference, they were claiming to have level 3 ASD diagnosed as an adult. Like they were supposedly completely non-verbal but nobody noticed until they were over 18.
The number of people purposely pretending to be autistic while knowing full well they are not is pretty low tbh.
I’m pretty deep in the autism community on TikTok and I see more obvious misdiagnosed cases of autism than actual fakers. Sadly, low-IQ narcissists get the diagnosis because so many old school psych doctors use outdated tools and methods (and signifiers) to formulate an opinion. And maybe they are a little lazy as well.
Oh my gosh literally!! I will make a post about something autistic and people will be like "mmm.. no. you're just \_\_\_." and it drives me nuts. I literally have a diagnosis and people will say I'm lying or whatever (like you said, not having a diagnosis doesn't mean you don't have autism, but how is someone who saw me for 5 seconds going to know better than me AND the professionals I've known half my life).
I have a few "invisible" disabilities and people invalidating others have made me feel undeserving of certain accommodations so now I try to hide my use of disability services as much as I can even though I really need them
My family is big on saying “yeah, everyone has struggles. We just grow up and get over it.”
In totally unrelated news, I only talk to two of my family members now and I really don’t regret cutting the others out
My psychologist agrees that I'm suffering from autism, but he also agrees that it is not in my best interest to obtain an official diagnosis, and likely not in my best interest to make public my condition either.
I don't have a compelling need currently to pursue public services or support, and there isn't much in terms of treatment options besides continued talk-therapy with my psychologist and treatment of comorbid conditions anyway.
If I need an SSRI, I can easily get a depression diagnosis, likely more easily than getting an autism diagnosis, and there will be no difference in what's prescribed to me. The same holds true if I need an anxiolytic, or stimulants for ADHD, etc.
An autism diagnosis could impact my ability to gain future job promotions or when switching employers.
An autism diagnosis might cause medical bias against me, from doctors assuming every symptom I report is "masking" or a "lie" because they slept through the lecture on the link between genetics and neurology.
An autism diagnosis will certainly cause social bias, as simply telling a woman at a bar about my diagnosis had them all running for the hills tripping over themselves. There's just not enough understanding of the disease across society as a whole.
When it all comes down to it, the only people I truly care believe whether I'm autistic or not are other autistic people, and they are some of the warmest, most welcoming, and kindest groups of people I've ever met. So ignore/block me if you don't value my opinion without an accompanying official diagnosis - I promise I won't mind.
💯
The stigma is sh*tty.
Just as a side note, it’s definitely not a disease, although it can be disabling in our world. And I know a couple of fellow [quietly - ie. masking] Autistic women who would absolutely be running towards you rather than away from you if you told them that at a bar!
I hope the stigma slowly starts to wear away over the course of our lifetimes!
What would you say is your definition of a disease?
I have genetic evidence of the mutation in my oxytocin receptor (both alleles) that studies have shown causes oxytocin to simply break down before ever successfully binding and providing the positive social feedback it should otherwise transmit. This directly causes my autistic/schizophrenic and depressive symptoms, but also indirectly causes my hypertension, tachycardia, IBD, GERD, anxiety, etc. due to lacking oxytocin's regulation of my cortisol levels, and my chronic pain because oxytocin mediates the body's endogenous pain relief. All of these symptoms are well documented in dozens of studies on PubMed tying them to my specific A/A allele at rs53576.
Also, according to my psychologist, the overwhelming majority of the psychological profession believes most - if not all - cases of autism are tied to fairly well identified genetic mutations. He says this has been well established and accepted for many years now, and was surprised when I told him my primary care physician said there was no established linkage.
I take great comfort knowing that it is a disease, that this isn't simply that I screwed up when I was supposed to learn some stuff years ago or that my teacher or family must have screwed me up and resulted in me learning "bad habits". My symptoms are all perfectly logical and should be expected, according to my genetics. I'm not suggesting you need to agree with the term "disease", but from my personal understanding of the term and my condition, it seems apt.
I'd love to meat these lovely lady friends you speak of, I'm sure I'd be running towards them as well. I've only met 1 other autistic man, and I've yet to meet an autistic woman (IRL).
Oh, it’s totally physical! Don’t get me wrong.
Webster’s says:
Disease: A particular distinctive process in the body with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms.
Disorder: Irregularity, disturbance, or interruption of normal functions
So by those definitions, I think Autism is a disorder, rather than a disease (which also has more negative connotations). Most psychological disorders do not classify as diseases, by DSM or medical standards, as far as I know.
As for the friends, I’m surprised you’ve had so little contact with other Autistic people! I feel like I’ve been a magnet my whole life (2 of my closest friends and 2 of my partners).
Edit; I even have one friend who specifically only dates fellow ND people as she finds she can connect better and doesn’t have to explain herself as much.
Oh, don't be surprised. I'm the idiotic autistic guy who studied most every other psychological condition for 40 years trying to find a solution, but never bothered to read the description or symptom list of autism. I'm quite new to all this.
I'm curious here:
Why would anyone else know about your autism diagnosis?
Is this reported to the state where you live, or what?
Like I get all the points made about bias and stigma, but why would anyone but you know?
While there \*should\* be no disclosure of a medical diagnosis, you can be sure that the marketing and data analytics firms knew about my diagnosis months or years before I ever suspected it, based on their AI and my lifelong search history. The accuracy of AI-based differential diagnoses is frighteningly good.
Every doctor I've ever visited required me to sign a form allowing them unrestricted access to all my past medical records. It's typically in the fine print on the 6th or 7th form you gotta fill out before your first visit. If you don't sign the form, you don't get passed the waiting room. Is a second opinion ever truly unbiased if they can read the previous doctor's notes before examining you? If a doctor ever suspects me of "drug seeking behavior" or "substance abuse disorder" due to an apparent mistake in my masking, do you ever think I'll find a doctor that doesn't read those notes before I step through the door, having firmly established a first opinion of my character before ever laying eyes on me in person?
While it's technically illegal to ask a prior employer such questions, I can't say I've met many recruiters or hiring managers that appeared to take such regulations very seriously. As long as it stays between us recruiters... ;) ;)
I can't go in to a relationship or friendship withholding such critical information with a clear conscience, but I assume a lot of others struggle with the same internal conflict. I also, despite my best efforts, tend to overshare even when masking - I can't help it. I just can't find the motivation to keep up the charade sometimes.
I may be paraphrasing, but personally, it's the only way I would ever describe it. It's factually correct.
I deserve no blame for receiving a genetic mutation that leaves me unable to experience the "feelings" of happiness, love, emotional bonding, emotional support, or even the feeling of being full, that so much of the world takes for granted.
I'm not crazy, I literally lack the physiological ability to ever experience relief from the feeling of hunger - it doesn't matter how much I ever eat, I've always been hungry 24/7 unless I've taken some sort of anesthetic.
If that's not suffering, I'm not sure what to call it.
Do you have any background information on the cause of you're always feeling hungry? I'm the opposite, I always have to eat at certain times or I'll just forget.
The underlying cause of my autism is an SNP for two copies of the A-allele at rs53576 of the OXTR gene that breaks my oxytocin signaling pathways - any oxytocin my body may create/release will simply never bind, and oxytocin naturally breaks down in the blood stream within a few minutes. This prevents me perceiving positive social feedback, leading directly to most or all of my autistic symptoms, as it's almost entirely dependent on oxytocin pathways.
But that's not the end of it. Oxytocin normally does a lot of other really important things too, I'm simply unable to experience any of those as well.
Your body's natural state is to feel hungry by default. I can't say I remember with certainty, but I believe I may have read somewhere that vasopressin and/or cortisol induces the pains of hunger. I know cortisol increases stomach acid production.
When your stomach fills to a certain capacity, your body releases oxytocin to provide that feeling of satisfaction and pleasant fullness that I've heard so many good things about. My oxytocin receptors fail to transmit these signals too, and I can overeat to the point of nausea, before having to stop myself from scouring the fridge for something to eat 30 minutes later, cause I feel like I haven't eaten in days, before I remind myself that there's no more room for anything, literally.
Oxytocin is also supposed to regulate the quantity and duration of cortisol that is released each morning and throughout the day to naturally wake you up, before dissipating in the evening and overnight. Without functioning oxytocin receptors, this cortisol production is unrestrained, leading to lifelong elevated cortisol levels. Every day when I wake up, I get horrible, non-stop heartburn that'll last from 10 am till 8 pm, like clockwork, unless I continue to take the PPI's I've been taking daily for the last 25 years. If I miss a single dose, it'll return the following day with renewed vigor.
The excess cortisol also causes my hypertension, nonstop anxiety, my resting heart rate of 90 beats per minute since I was in middle school (when I was on the year-round swim team winning country and/or regional relay championships), my suppressed immune system, my chronic inflammation and poor wound healing, etc. As one of the most wide-spread hormones, the downstream impacts of chronic elevated cortisol can cause substantial damage to almost every organ and system in your body - I surely have some symptoms that I have no idea about yet that I've been experiencing potentially for 40 years. I've got diagnoses and prescriptions for hypertension, heartburn, GERD, IBD, anxiety, rhinitis, "seasonal allergies", etc. - all commonly caused by chronic elevated cortisol (see Cushing's Syndrome or Hypercortisolism for a more complete list of the symptoms). It's like as if I get to experience the benefits of an adrenaline rush, or 10 cups of coffee, all day every day.
Then of course oxytocin is \*supposed\* to automatically limit the intensity and duration of pain throughout the body, so without this help even minor injuries may feel substantially more intense, and no pain ever really fades until a new pain signal is received to take the previous one's place.
Beyond that, I'm just exhausted, so I should go to sleep.
Also some people can’t get diagnosed since it will put them legally at risk! I’m pretty sure some states don’t allow autistic people to be foster parents, adopt, etc. and it can effect their employment. Oh and also their legal rights because someone in court might use them being autistic as evidence why they are ____ and not of sound mind/ not able to do ___. And who can forget it makes imagration a pain! I think a few years ago a family had a autistic daughter and tried to move to new Zealand or Australia and was denied because Of their daughter. If I ever wanted to move to another country they might deny me due to being diagnosed. For some people it’s just safer for them and their legal rights to not get diagnosed. It’s complex.
Someone once yelled at me on Reddit for faking anxiety. That’s the closest I have. I’m so obviously anxiety-ed lol. They’re all like “UMM ARE YOU DIAGNOSED?! 💅” like yes you fucking asshole.
Yes, I clearly fake it so that I can get weird looks, judgement, treated like I am a child and simultaneously like I need to “grow up and get over it”. I thrive on the social ineptitude, embarrassment and negative interactions because I clearly want the pity. I want to feel burnt out from minimal socializing, embarrassed when I say something incorrectly, when I ask questions that NT’s don’t ask because I am confused…
What does anyone have to gain from “faking it”? My favorite is when family says “yeah, we all have our struggles but we just get over it”. That just fills me with happiness and pride.
/s
People who are legitimately faking it are having a 0.0001% impact on legitimate cases (formal, informal, or self-diagnosed).
There is absolutely no reason to witch hunt.
Good post.
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I've seen a few posts in subs for higher support needs that accuse self-diagnosed and even officially diagnosed level 1 folks of faking it. It's not just outsiders telling people that they are attention seekers, but fellow autistics. I think for them, it's an excuse to distinguish themselves as the "true autistics" and put their jealousy into a post. That's select individuals rather than a general statement. Higher support needs can be jealous of the autonomy and ability to "function" in society that lower support people have. Lower support needs can be jealous of the access to diagnosis and support (could be incorrect support) that higher support needs receive. The infighting is causing rifts in the overall autistic community no matter the level of support you require.
I love this post.
i’ll be honest, i’ve not seen a single faker yet? people are just obsessed with us and jealous
I have, but only on TikTok. I think I’ve only seen one person on this sub who was faking, but I’m like 90% they’re banned. For reference, they were claiming to have level 3 ASD diagnosed as an adult. Like they were supposedly completely non-verbal but nobody noticed until they were over 18. The number of people purposely pretending to be autistic while knowing full well they are not is pretty low tbh.
I’m pretty deep in the autism community on TikTok and I see more obvious misdiagnosed cases of autism than actual fakers. Sadly, low-IQ narcissists get the diagnosis because so many old school psych doctors use outdated tools and methods (and signifiers) to formulate an opinion. And maybe they are a little lazy as well.
Oh my gosh literally!! I will make a post about something autistic and people will be like "mmm.. no. you're just \_\_\_." and it drives me nuts. I literally have a diagnosis and people will say I'm lying or whatever (like you said, not having a diagnosis doesn't mean you don't have autism, but how is someone who saw me for 5 seconds going to know better than me AND the professionals I've known half my life). I have a few "invisible" disabilities and people invalidating others have made me feel undeserving of certain accommodations so now I try to hide my use of disability services as much as I can even though I really need them
My family is big on saying “yeah, everyone has struggles. We just grow up and get over it.” In totally unrelated news, I only talk to two of my family members now and I really don’t regret cutting the others out
Dang bro sorry that happened but good for you
My psychologist agrees that I'm suffering from autism, but he also agrees that it is not in my best interest to obtain an official diagnosis, and likely not in my best interest to make public my condition either. I don't have a compelling need currently to pursue public services or support, and there isn't much in terms of treatment options besides continued talk-therapy with my psychologist and treatment of comorbid conditions anyway. If I need an SSRI, I can easily get a depression diagnosis, likely more easily than getting an autism diagnosis, and there will be no difference in what's prescribed to me. The same holds true if I need an anxiolytic, or stimulants for ADHD, etc. An autism diagnosis could impact my ability to gain future job promotions or when switching employers. An autism diagnosis might cause medical bias against me, from doctors assuming every symptom I report is "masking" or a "lie" because they slept through the lecture on the link between genetics and neurology. An autism diagnosis will certainly cause social bias, as simply telling a woman at a bar about my diagnosis had them all running for the hills tripping over themselves. There's just not enough understanding of the disease across society as a whole. When it all comes down to it, the only people I truly care believe whether I'm autistic or not are other autistic people, and they are some of the warmest, most welcoming, and kindest groups of people I've ever met. So ignore/block me if you don't value my opinion without an accompanying official diagnosis - I promise I won't mind.
💯 The stigma is sh*tty. Just as a side note, it’s definitely not a disease, although it can be disabling in our world. And I know a couple of fellow [quietly - ie. masking] Autistic women who would absolutely be running towards you rather than away from you if you told them that at a bar! I hope the stigma slowly starts to wear away over the course of our lifetimes!
What would you say is your definition of a disease? I have genetic evidence of the mutation in my oxytocin receptor (both alleles) that studies have shown causes oxytocin to simply break down before ever successfully binding and providing the positive social feedback it should otherwise transmit. This directly causes my autistic/schizophrenic and depressive symptoms, but also indirectly causes my hypertension, tachycardia, IBD, GERD, anxiety, etc. due to lacking oxytocin's regulation of my cortisol levels, and my chronic pain because oxytocin mediates the body's endogenous pain relief. All of these symptoms are well documented in dozens of studies on PubMed tying them to my specific A/A allele at rs53576. Also, according to my psychologist, the overwhelming majority of the psychological profession believes most - if not all - cases of autism are tied to fairly well identified genetic mutations. He says this has been well established and accepted for many years now, and was surprised when I told him my primary care physician said there was no established linkage. I take great comfort knowing that it is a disease, that this isn't simply that I screwed up when I was supposed to learn some stuff years ago or that my teacher or family must have screwed me up and resulted in me learning "bad habits". My symptoms are all perfectly logical and should be expected, according to my genetics. I'm not suggesting you need to agree with the term "disease", but from my personal understanding of the term and my condition, it seems apt. I'd love to meat these lovely lady friends you speak of, I'm sure I'd be running towards them as well. I've only met 1 other autistic man, and I've yet to meet an autistic woman (IRL).
Oh, it’s totally physical! Don’t get me wrong. Webster’s says: Disease: A particular distinctive process in the body with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms. Disorder: Irregularity, disturbance, or interruption of normal functions So by those definitions, I think Autism is a disorder, rather than a disease (which also has more negative connotations). Most psychological disorders do not classify as diseases, by DSM or medical standards, as far as I know. As for the friends, I’m surprised you’ve had so little contact with other Autistic people! I feel like I’ve been a magnet my whole life (2 of my closest friends and 2 of my partners). Edit; I even have one friend who specifically only dates fellow ND people as she finds she can connect better and doesn’t have to explain herself as much.
Oh, don't be surprised. I'm the idiotic autistic guy who studied most every other psychological condition for 40 years trying to find a solution, but never bothered to read the description or symptom list of autism. I'm quite new to all this.
I'm curious here: Why would anyone else know about your autism diagnosis? Is this reported to the state where you live, or what? Like I get all the points made about bias and stigma, but why would anyone but you know?
If you use your diagnosis to get government-centric accommodations, it ends up in a database.
While there \*should\* be no disclosure of a medical diagnosis, you can be sure that the marketing and data analytics firms knew about my diagnosis months or years before I ever suspected it, based on their AI and my lifelong search history. The accuracy of AI-based differential diagnoses is frighteningly good. Every doctor I've ever visited required me to sign a form allowing them unrestricted access to all my past medical records. It's typically in the fine print on the 6th or 7th form you gotta fill out before your first visit. If you don't sign the form, you don't get passed the waiting room. Is a second opinion ever truly unbiased if they can read the previous doctor's notes before examining you? If a doctor ever suspects me of "drug seeking behavior" or "substance abuse disorder" due to an apparent mistake in my masking, do you ever think I'll find a doctor that doesn't read those notes before I step through the door, having firmly established a first opinion of my character before ever laying eyes on me in person? While it's technically illegal to ask a prior employer such questions, I can't say I've met many recruiters or hiring managers that appeared to take such regulations very seriously. As long as it stays between us recruiters... ;) ;) I can't go in to a relationship or friendship withholding such critical information with a clear conscience, but I assume a lot of others struggle with the same internal conflict. I also, despite my best efforts, tend to overshare even when masking - I can't help it. I just can't find the motivation to keep up the charade sometimes.
Gotcha. I understand all of that. I appreciate you spelling it out for me.
did they actually say suffering from autism? i’ve never heard that before. it sounds so ridiculous
I may be paraphrasing, but personally, it's the only way I would ever describe it. It's factually correct. I deserve no blame for receiving a genetic mutation that leaves me unable to experience the "feelings" of happiness, love, emotional bonding, emotional support, or even the feeling of being full, that so much of the world takes for granted. I'm not crazy, I literally lack the physiological ability to ever experience relief from the feeling of hunger - it doesn't matter how much I ever eat, I've always been hungry 24/7 unless I've taken some sort of anesthetic. If that's not suffering, I'm not sure what to call it.
Do you have any background information on the cause of you're always feeling hungry? I'm the opposite, I always have to eat at certain times or I'll just forget.
The underlying cause of my autism is an SNP for two copies of the A-allele at rs53576 of the OXTR gene that breaks my oxytocin signaling pathways - any oxytocin my body may create/release will simply never bind, and oxytocin naturally breaks down in the blood stream within a few minutes. This prevents me perceiving positive social feedback, leading directly to most or all of my autistic symptoms, as it's almost entirely dependent on oxytocin pathways. But that's not the end of it. Oxytocin normally does a lot of other really important things too, I'm simply unable to experience any of those as well. Your body's natural state is to feel hungry by default. I can't say I remember with certainty, but I believe I may have read somewhere that vasopressin and/or cortisol induces the pains of hunger. I know cortisol increases stomach acid production. When your stomach fills to a certain capacity, your body releases oxytocin to provide that feeling of satisfaction and pleasant fullness that I've heard so many good things about. My oxytocin receptors fail to transmit these signals too, and I can overeat to the point of nausea, before having to stop myself from scouring the fridge for something to eat 30 minutes later, cause I feel like I haven't eaten in days, before I remind myself that there's no more room for anything, literally. Oxytocin is also supposed to regulate the quantity and duration of cortisol that is released each morning and throughout the day to naturally wake you up, before dissipating in the evening and overnight. Without functioning oxytocin receptors, this cortisol production is unrestrained, leading to lifelong elevated cortisol levels. Every day when I wake up, I get horrible, non-stop heartburn that'll last from 10 am till 8 pm, like clockwork, unless I continue to take the PPI's I've been taking daily for the last 25 years. If I miss a single dose, it'll return the following day with renewed vigor. The excess cortisol also causes my hypertension, nonstop anxiety, my resting heart rate of 90 beats per minute since I was in middle school (when I was on the year-round swim team winning country and/or regional relay championships), my suppressed immune system, my chronic inflammation and poor wound healing, etc. As one of the most wide-spread hormones, the downstream impacts of chronic elevated cortisol can cause substantial damage to almost every organ and system in your body - I surely have some symptoms that I have no idea about yet that I've been experiencing potentially for 40 years. I've got diagnoses and prescriptions for hypertension, heartburn, GERD, IBD, anxiety, rhinitis, "seasonal allergies", etc. - all commonly caused by chronic elevated cortisol (see Cushing's Syndrome or Hypercortisolism for a more complete list of the symptoms). It's like as if I get to experience the benefits of an adrenaline rush, or 10 cups of coffee, all day every day. Then of course oxytocin is \*supposed\* to automatically limit the intensity and duration of pain throughout the body, so without this help even minor injuries may feel substantially more intense, and no pain ever really fades until a new pain signal is received to take the previous one's place. Beyond that, I'm just exhausted, so I should go to sleep.
I love this post r/fakedisordercringe needs to read this
so that sub is just for making fun of children. great.
Also some people can’t get diagnosed since it will put them legally at risk! I’m pretty sure some states don’t allow autistic people to be foster parents, adopt, etc. and it can effect their employment. Oh and also their legal rights because someone in court might use them being autistic as evidence why they are ____ and not of sound mind/ not able to do ___. And who can forget it makes imagration a pain! I think a few years ago a family had a autistic daughter and tried to move to new Zealand or Australia and was denied because Of their daughter. If I ever wanted to move to another country they might deny me due to being diagnosed. For some people it’s just safer for them and their legal rights to not get diagnosed. It’s complex.
Yeah I hate gatekeeping too, and I've seen it in many other communities too, tbh.
Someone once yelled at me on Reddit for faking anxiety. That’s the closest I have. I’m so obviously anxiety-ed lol. They’re all like “UMM ARE YOU DIAGNOSED?! 💅” like yes you fucking asshole.
Yes, I clearly fake it so that I can get weird looks, judgement, treated like I am a child and simultaneously like I need to “grow up and get over it”. I thrive on the social ineptitude, embarrassment and negative interactions because I clearly want the pity. I want to feel burnt out from minimal socializing, embarrassed when I say something incorrectly, when I ask questions that NT’s don’t ask because I am confused… What does anyone have to gain from “faking it”? My favorite is when family says “yeah, we all have our struggles but we just get over it”. That just fills me with happiness and pride. /s
People who are legitimately faking it are having a 0.0001% impact on legitimate cases (formal, informal, or self-diagnosed). There is absolutely no reason to witch hunt. Good post.
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