faking a diagnosis

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Is it possible to be misjudged with AS if one is a neurotypical? How difficult would it be for an actor to fake an autism diagnosis in order to get special rights? Can the cultural background of a country influence the way autism is perceived?

It is possible because it has been done. The actor Freddie Highmore plays an autistic on TV’s “The Good Doctor”.

It depends on what type of “rights” the actor is looking for. Overall I think it would be easier to fake a physical disability.

Culture does make a difference. Autism is looked at differently in France than in the UK.

Why do you ask?

Is it possible to be misjudged with AS if one is a neurotypical? How difficult would it be for an actor to fake an autism diagnosis in order to get special rights? Can the cultural background of a country influence the way autism is perceived?


sometimes psychologists diagnose conditions that clients do not have. sometimes psychologists fail to diagnose conditions that clients do have.

the autism diagnosis requires something like five out of nine symptoms. it is a spectrum. so one psychologist might count five symptoms, while a different one counts four. for the same client. there is no scientific method of measuring it. thus far. and if there were, it would not be required for diagnosis.

some cultures are more social than others.

one symptom of autism is inadequate eye contact. some countries don't do eye contact. like japan. some countries do a lot of eye contact. united states.

but what is the definition of inadequate eye contact? different psychologists define it differently. one psychologist might say you made too much eye contact and the other one say you made too little.

psychologists are humans. all humans, regardless of occupation, have their own flaws, biases.


the neuropsychiatrist that diagnosed me. part of the IQ test was Rote Memory. he told me to recite ten digits backwards. all the ten digit numbers he gave me started with San Diego area codes. this was in san diego.

thus that made it easier for me (and any other client) to score higher on the Rote Memory portion. strong rote memory is a function of autism. thus making it easier for me (and any other client) to fulfill the diagnostic threshold for autism