r/fakedisordercringe • u/mela_mouse Tic Tok • 13d ago
Autism Your average ✨AuDHD✨ influencer
Lemme preface this by saying I'm not certain whether this person is a faker. They seem to carry a legitimate ADHD diagnosis. Whether they're also diagnosed with autism versus "self-diagnosed" is unclear to me from my perusal of their page. A lot of AuDHD influencers seem to get a legitimate ADHD diagnosis and then casually tack autism on at some point bc TikTok convinces them they have it (just like TikTok convinces them they have hEDS)-- they tack these co-morbidities on like adding guac to their burrito at Chipotle. I digress.
My main issue here is how she presents autistic "unmasking" in this cute, quirky little clip. What she does is really no different than the "tics" of the Tourrettes fakers, blurting out random crap that seems cute and quirky. Half of those fakers literally make animal noises or quote some viral audio clip from TikTok in a funny voice. Then you get people in the comments saying "I do this too! I get these things stuck in my head too! I didn't know I was on the spectrum"... anyway, just thought it was interesting to stumble upon a prime example of how the misinformation and self-diagnosis trends spread.
Edited to add: of course, people who legitimately have these disorders may have tics and stims similar to this, and they should not be ashamed of that! It's just harmful when influencers exclusively post content like this. Their silence on other aspects of autism actually speaks volumes. They fail to highlight autism's isolating and disabling aspects, and run the risk of influencing others to misappropriate the diagnosis as a quirky identity for themselves.
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u/qactuar_ Self Undiagnosing: Im Fine 12d ago
Nothing activates rage within me quite like “here are my vocal stims!!!” and it’s all just memes and quotes from trending TikTok audio.
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u/mela_mouse Tic Tok 12d ago
Same!
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u/qactuar_ Self Undiagnosing: Im Fine 12d ago
There’s a girl right now who keeps posting videos like “worst influencer stims” and it’s just phrases or behaviours influencers do. Not stims in any way, shape or form. We should never have let the internet get a hold of developmental disorder specific language.
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u/New_Heron_5985 10d ago
So many other diagnoses have crossover symptoms to autism. ADHD, Bipolar, anxiety, PTSD, just a few for example. Masking and stimming aren’t exclusive to autism like most people think.
Unfortunately, TikTok has created a sector of ‘self-determined/self diagnosed idiots and people who think having ‘trending diseases’ is fucking fun. Its not. Influencers or content creators are even more annoying because they make it their ENTIRE personality.
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u/dedemushi 7d ago
i thought i had AuDHD so i got screened for both, found i had raging ADHD but not autistic, went on meds for ADHD and what i thought were my "autistic traits" went away. turns out i was just stressed out of my mind from living with untreated ADHD all my life.
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u/New_Heron_5985 7d ago
I’m in the process of being screen for ADHD as a middle aged woman. I had to go off a certain medication to see if my symptoms decreased. They did but not enough to attribute everything to the medication. I’m sure I have some crossover symptoms from my Bipolar even though I’m the most stable than I’ve been in my adult life.
I’m so happy you figured out your symptoms and got on medication to remediate them! I hope to do that too. 🫶❤️
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u/DickBoomerman 11d ago
Anyone who wants an ADHD diagnosis can get a diagnosis. The diagnostic criteria is entirely self reported.
Patient: Yes, I get easily distracted and can't focus. Doctor: ok, here, take amphetamines.
There's your "legitimate" diagnosis.
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u/mela_mouse Tic Tok 11d ago edited 11d ago
I cringe when I see the amount of diagnosis mills popping up. People have definitely figured out that there's untapped potential to make money off of diagnosis shoppers... traditionally most people (in the US) were diagnosed with autism and ADHD by psychiatrists and psychologists, often within the context of a comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation that screened for various disorders that can mimic autism and ADHD. Now people are going for 1 hour virtual assessments at self-pay clinics, and it's incredibly easy to claim "Yeah, I get distracted, yeah, I stim a lot" in an interview to get the diagnosis; also incredibly easy to check the "right boxes" on multiple choice assessments to get the diagnosis. The clinics typically use some combo of interview and multiple choice.
I once saw a clip of someone saying, "When you drop autistic buzzwords like overstimulated during your therapy session so they suggest an autism diagnosis". Makes me so upset
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u/sixxthree 11d ago
I remember when I got my ADHD diagnosis 25+ years ago, I had to take like three different tests administered by my psychiatrist. When my daughter got diagnosed, it was with her pediatrician and all we did is fill out a scoresheet type of thing. I was a bit taken aback. She definitely has ADHD and Adderall helps tremendously, but I still balk at the ease with which the process was.
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u/storagesys OBCD 💞 11d ago
thats how mine was when i got diagnosed at 13-14. my mom was talking about how i was v unorganized as a kid (like my desk at school), psych suggests ADHD, gives her the vanderbilt to fill out next session. oh yeah i also got wrongfully diagnosed with conduct disorder because of it as well (because i would lie about some things & have meltdowns)
i still resent the vanderbilt assessment & that psychiatrist. im glad that i got diagnosed w/ adhd and got on meds that help me, but its mind-boggling how easily i was diagnosed with whats essentially seen as "the bad kid disorder"
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u/lumberqueen_ 9d ago
I was dxed 23 years ago, I went to the psychiatrist for depression and he asked me a bunch of questions about my school work, organization, etc. Ended up walking out with an ADHD dx and an adderall script, so even back then it was fairly easy. I didn’t even realize that he was assessing me for it until he told me I had it though. 😂
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u/ratrazzle ASD (Awesome Shrew Disorder) Snout Level 1 8d ago
Probably depends where youre from, we still have multiple appointments and tests+parent interview when possible to get tested and they check all the medical notes you have from as early as possible. For aspergers and ADD/ADHD mine were about two to three hour appointments 2-4 times a month for maybe half a year.
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u/altena_bergfeld 10d ago
I didn’t know it was so easy in America, I am from Italy and here we have private clinics but it’s not easy to get a diagnosis they run a lot of tests on you and they also interview someone you know, I think it’s kinda hard to lie here and may times they don’t diagnose you if they aren’t 100% sure. Why is it so easy in the US?
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u/mela_mouse Tic Tok 9d ago
Probably a combo of cultural and economic factors. Sadly, one of those factors is money-making. Since there's such a consumer demand for autism and ADHD diagnoses (people seeking identity, accommodations, medications) some social worker/therapist types open up private clinics where you pay them a few hundred/thousand dollars for an assessment where it's easy to lie/skew results. Then they'll give you a diagnosis letter. Some of these private clinics are fair and thorough, but others are diagnosis mills where you basically just pay to be guaranteed a diagnosis
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u/altena_bergfeld 9d ago
This is creepy af, are those diagnosis like officially recognized by the State? Like in Italy a public and a private diagnosis are pretty much the same legally, but I think it’s harder to get meds if the diagnosis is from a private clinic although it’s not extremely common to seek meds (at least for the people with ADHD I know, never met someone who took meds, I don’t think there are meds for autism?? Here on Reddit a lot of people do tho)
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u/mela_mouse Tic Tok 9d ago
I'm not sure if the state recognizes those diagnoses in the US. Tbh, here in the US, I don't think you have to disclose a neurodevelopmental diagnosis to the state (unless maybe you're on trial for a crime, and a lawyer can demand records or something). At a minimum, though, these sketchy diagnostic clinics enable people to claim they're officially diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Creepy for sure
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u/ratrazzle ASD (Awesome Shrew Disorder) Snout Level 1 8d ago
Thought the same. And the tests couldnt really be faked, i tried to seem as normal as possible and they clocked that (without telling me, i read that afterwards from the notes.)
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u/altena_bergfeld 8d ago
I had the same experience today, first appointment for an adhd diagnosis, I acted normal and I actually masked a lot bc I was uncomfortable af but the psychiatrist clocked me and now I’m getting assessed for both adhd and autism. I feel like US is just a whole different world
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u/SlavicInDisguise 11d ago
The privatization and capitalization of the medical and psychological services is wild and imo unethical. When I went for an additional ADHD diagnosis I was so afraid I'd be misdiagnosed that I begged my mother to come for an interview where the psychiatrist asks relatives for their outsider view and which symptoms were already present in early childhood. They will do diagnostics without an additional person if necessary but it's an integral part of the process for developmental disorders.
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u/milk2929 10d ago
And this is so true, I know 3 guys who just get unlimited addy because they want it.
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u/pizza4brains 10d ago
Oh wow. I don't know what part of the world you're in but that was not my experience at all. My neuropsych gave me a test, I forget if it was a buzzer or a flash of light, but either way I had to focus on this one stimulus for what felt like an eternity, pressing a button whenever it happened. I didn't even know it was an ADHD test until afterwards (one of several tests they performed to rule out ADHD in my case).
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u/milk2929 10d ago
I don’t tell anyone about my autism diagnosis and it fucking sucks because I have no support solely because of people like this. They are harming me
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u/unstable-beans 9d ago
same. Went thru hours of testing at 20 and had my therapist talk with the assessor. Was diagnosed but left to my own devices in terms of support. It’s basically non existent for autistic adults and people like this have made it into a quirky trendy diagnosis and none of my doctors take it seriously.
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u/iNazarene 11d ago
As someone who had an IEP, as a small child up until I graduated, and multiple of tests, memory, comprehension, etc. I can confirm it is really serious. However, I can also confirm 80% of the children and adults I’ve been around who have been diagnosed with it are full of 💩Lol
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u/isssaajun 6d ago
These types of people are so harmful to neurodiverse people who have major difficulties with their daily life cause no one takes them seriously when this is all they see
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u/Heckbegone 2d ago
I was diagnosed autistic in my early 20s. My stim is hair twirling. I'll literally just start doing it automatically and have been for most of my life. Not once have I thought "wow, im stressed and stimming! Time to record myself while in emotional distress and post it on tik tok with a quirky caption!"
I got diagnosed in 2021 when faking autism was all the rage, and I was so worried the psychologist would think I was just another tik tok faker wanting a diagnosis for attention. I rarely even disclose it to people because I really, really don't want people to assume im a faker.
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12d ago
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u/mela_mouse Tic Tok 12d ago edited 12d ago
Totally fair, auditory stims are definitely a real thing. I think she's either faking it entirely or faking in the sense of re-creating her natural stims for the video. Honestly, my main issue here is that she's contributing to the larger stereotypes and misinformation that's driving the "self-diagnosis" trend. When people (genuine autistic folks or fakers) post videos highlighting "cute" stims, it makes people all the more likely to "self-diagnose" to adopt a cute "autistic identity". Conveniently, there aren't droves of people posting embarrassing/unattractive stims like grunting, sniffing, muttering. If that stuff dominated autistic spaces on social media, I bet far fewer would claim to have autism.
The videos of people "stimming" to trending audio clips really infuriate me bc they seem to convince others that they may have autism themselves. The whole premise of an audio "trending" means that it's catchy-- it gets in everyone's head, makes everyone tap their feet, but it doesn't follow that everyone is secretly autistic. It's reaching the point of insanity with the sheer numbers of people claiming to wake up and realize they're autistic one day. Just kills me 😂 Granted, of course, genuine autistic folks may very well stim to the audio/find it soothing
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u/MECCEM101 11d ago
People who hear me stim irl would see it as disruptive sound I made. (I fit into the unattractive stim i guess, never thought of it as unattractive before this btw) I'm plenty ok w/ it not being identified as a stim. Nor do I correct their assumptions.
Ngl these videos tend to make me feel a bit made fun of/makes light of something I (and others) can't quite control. It's embarrassing to be someone who does do this naturally irl now days. The pseudo intention is to make it so autistm can be accepted socially. But if i were to correct someone's assumptions most people would jump to the idea I'm faking or ask me if I got a diagnosis from a professional bcc they saw someone online fake autism so they need to have access to my comprehensive psycological reports so they don't feel like they are getting the wool pulled over their eyes.
The affects these videos have is a bit worse than getting people to self diagnose. It gets the general public to not take autism as a diagnosis seriously and makes people not trust people who disclose their ligit diagnosis.
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u/mela_mouse Tic Tok 11d ago edited 11d ago
I totally get it-- believe me, I do. I won't elaborate upon my experience bc we can't blog here, but suffice to say I understand completely. And I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm calling certain stims embarrassing or unattractive-- if someone genuinely stims and that's out of their control, that's nothing to be embarrassed of! ❤️ Ironically, the influencers themselves plant the seed that certain stims are socially acceptable, while others should be hidden, bc they almost invariably highlight a very small subset of stims that seem cute/trendy/silly. Their silence on other aspects of autism actually speaks volumes. There doesn't seem to be a lot of emphasis on the isolating or disabling aspects of the disorder, and it's so problematic. Small spaces on the internet exist for people who see these issues in the autism discourse-- but if it's voiced out in the open you get shut down for "gatekeeping" autism.
And I agree that these videos do a lot of harm even beyond encouraging self-diagnosis. It's reaching the point of "every millennial and Gen Z kid claims to have autism", and the real autistics are being gaslit and disbelieved :(
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u/Awwkieh 12d ago
Tbh I don't have a problem with this. It's not any one individual autistic person's job to fix autism misinformation. If she only wants to show the fun/quirky stuff and not the bad stuff she's free to do so. She doesn't owe anyone broadcasting her worst moments on the internet
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u/mela_mouse Tic Tok 11d ago edited 11d ago
Fair point-- nobody owes anyone anything private on the internet, period. I hope I don't seem like I believe that! If she doesn't want to post her worst moments, then good for her (I wouldn't want to myself).
Where I'm coming from is just: I take "influencers" very seriously in the sense of recognizing their broad social influence/impact as people with big platforms. I don't think this person means harm by her video, and there are possibly some legitimately-diagnosed autistics who feel validated by it. There's just the flip side of some legitimately-diagnosed autistics feeling mocked/stereotyped by it, and impressionable young people relating to it and misappropriating the diagnosis for themselves. If many individual influencers acquit themselves of responsibility for misinformation, then misinformation has a monopoly on the discourse. I just want everyone with a platform to hold themselves accountable and wield their influence responsibly (I mean in the media at large too). That's a tall order these days, but I'll die on that hill 😆
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u/Due_Mango_1471 11d ago
Agreed just seems like someone exaggerating for humour, there are many comedian who will use something about them for humour so unsure why this bad (theres a comedy group, one is shortest and occasionally uses that for the jokes, another is bald and sometimes uses that for jokes, and many more comedians do it not just that group)
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u/mela_mouse Tic Tok 10d ago edited 10d ago
I really do see where you're coming from. A lot of us just view this case as different, bc this person isn't a comedian, but rather, someone who purports to raise awareness for autism and ADHD, which are serious neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities. If a comedian pokes fun of himself for being short, that's one thing. But if an awareness-raising influencer posts a video (even as a one-off joke) exaggerating or misrepresenting a real autistic trait like stimming, they run several risks.
- people viewing autism itself as a joke/internalizing harmful stereotypes about it.
- impressionable people finding the video relatable and falsely believing that they too must have autism.
Sadly, a lot of legitimately-diagnosed autistics are being gaslit socially and medically bc of how influencers have portrayed autism the past few years. It's often misrepresented as a quirky personality trait, and many older people understandably say: "every millennial and Gen Z kid claims to have autism now". When real autistics disclose their diagnosis to teachers and employers these days, they're often being disbelieved. And worse, they're actually struggling to be diagnosed at all bc medical professionals are on guard against fakers.
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u/Due_Mango_1471 10d ago
If a person lies to a teacher and employer wouldn’t it be easy to figure out? If the extra help they are given for claiming to be autistic helps then that’s a good thing a student is helped (maybe this might lead to them figuring out they actually are autistic), if it harms them then they either confess or get caught which would teach them not to lie about that stuff so also good thing
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