Is it even possible for someone to fake autism?

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I sometimes feel like I might just be faking subconsciously. But when I really thought about it, a normal person wouldn't really be able to fake having autism, not even consciously, right? To me it seems it would be just as hard as it might be for an autistic person to fake NT.

A well trained actor might be able to? But not as a day in day out sirt of thing no they would burn out

For a person who's done all the right research, it's always possible to fake a disorder consciously (that's how we get NTs playing autistics on TV). Unconsciously however, I'm not certain. There would have to be complex psychological roots at work to make a person unknowingly want to be autistic, and to subsequently come across as such. The question then becomes, at what point does something stop being unconscious acting, and start being "real"? After all, if you're not sensory sensitive (for example), but you feel like you are, as far as treatment purposes go, does it make any difference?

I'm not sure why anyone would want to fake autism on a daily basis. There are things about it that are cool, but being NT would be a heck of a lot easier.

I know of someone who is somewhat well-known in the autistic community and I do believe they have successfully faked "low functioning" autism from what I've seen and also from what people who know them in real life have said, so I suppose it's possible. I agree with you though; I don't think a normal (in this case, basically sane) person would be able to do such a thing. It's similar to how some people begin to believe their lies if they keep them going long enough.

I'm new to the community so I don't know this person, but why in the heck would you want to spend your life faking any kind of disability? It's like my sister said to me when we were teenagers that I was faking being blind so I could get attention. Like I would voluntarily be stuck not being able to drive or read print and have to deal with the other crap that comes with being blind so people would like the way I play the piano. If I wanted attention I would become a professional musician. My sister is about as sharp as a bowling ball, though, so I guess I should take some of the crap she comes out with with a grain of salt.

You know, I used to feel like I was just faking it somehow.
It stopped once I realized how many things are connected to it; little things, too, ones I'd already gotten used to years and years ago.

And I've said it before, but because I had to wait for the diagnosis for sooooo long, I kind of brushed all my traits aside.
It's like I'm now learning to really be myself, for better or worse.

I didn't think i was faking it, but rather i thought I was defective. I get really depressed when I do something socially awkward because there is a voice in my head that goes, "You're 28 years old. You should know better."

Someone who fakes being autistic has bigger problems than most of us. It's not exactly a route to success and popularity. I doubt it's possible to "unconsciously fake" a neurological condition because there would be no practical difference between someone who had autism and someone who "unconsciously faked" being autistic. How would you determine the difference between a real autistic and a fake autistic who believed they were autistic and could "unconsciously fake" all the symptoms. Wouldn't they have the exact same problems as someone who was "genuinely" autistic?

I understand that some people have an identity constructed around autism but we should be aware of the tendency to be paranoid about people claiming to be autistic. This should not be a threat to our identity.

An NT may be able to fake some of the mannerisms, but I don't think one could truly "feel" autistic just by trying. I certainly don't think they'd be able to mimic any of the sensory issues either, though they may be able to "act" like they have sensory issues.

First of all, why would you want to? What would you get out of faking it.

I was brought into the 1st Psychiatrist's office because they thought I was depressed and suicidal. That's when they first discovered Asperger's in me. I knew nothing about it apart from the fact that it was a form of Autism. I refused to believe I had Autism.

When I finally accepted my diagnosis and looked into what Asperger's was, there was no denying it. I desperately wanted to believe I wasn't Autistic but the more I learned about it, the more difficult it became to refute it.

You are what you are and you know what you are.

If you've got it, and you know what it means to have Asperger's, well then, I can't see how you could be fooling yourself. You've either got the 'symptoms' or you don't.

I must admit though, sometimes it still hits me rather hard and I find myself wondering, "Am I REALLY Autistic?"
I know I am but it's still such a shock. I've been like this all my life and I had no idea the reason I have always been SO DIFFERENT was because of Autism. Who'd have thought? And all this time, I thought it was because I was from another planet! True!

Why would anyone fake a condition associated with social isolation? It makes no sense. From what I understand about Hypochondria or Munchhausen by proxy a motivator of the condition is attention, they are the only two conditions that I know of whereby the person feels/fabricates symptoms.
I don't understand.

As high-functioning autism is often denounced as acting badly, I say it's very possible.

The difference between HFA and being a self-centered jerk is that someone with HFA will consistently fail to grasp working well with other no matter how hard they try. Someone just being a jerk could do it but chooses not to. I suppose an expert who knows what factors to look at would be able to observe a faker for a while and list what they are doing that betrays that they aren't really autistic.

L_Holmes doesn't want to fake being autistic. He's afraid he might be doing it without knowing it and he asked if that's possible. It's not about wanting to fake autism.

Just thought I'd say that.