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Misdiagnosis the other way: someone actually without ASD diagnosed as being on the spectrum

DragonCat16

I have tried to find the answer to this via web searches, but I just can't get an answer. I would like to know the statistics for people who have misdiagnosed with ASD when they are later conclusively found not to have ASD (i.e. they have some other condition, or they don't have any condition at all). All I get when I search are stats for people misdiagnosed the other way: people on the spectrum who were wrongly diagnosed with something else at first, or people on the spectrum who were not thought to have any condition at all until ASD was considered.

Does anyone know the answer to this? Has anyone here been diagnosed with ASD only to find out later that you're not on the spectrum, or know someone this has happened to?

Can anyone point me to a site with stats for this type of misdiagnosis?

Is it possible to fake being on the spectrum to the extent that a professional expert would wrongly diagnose someone with ASD? Would anyone want to do so?

Any info whatsoever about this would be greatly appreciated.

Parents

  • Thanks for the replies. It seems to me that it would be a lot of trouble to go to in order to get a diagnosis for the purpose of receiving benefits, for example. For one thing, it takes a long time to get a diagnosis. For another thing, once you have a diagnosis, you aren't entitled to anything unless you can prove that your condition amounts to a disability under the law. To seek a diagnosis and get benefits, you would have to be seen by at least a GP, the specialist to whom the GP refers you, and the person who evaluates you for the purpose of determining whether you are entitled to benefits. You would take the risk that any of those people could be so ignorant that they won't accept that you have the condition unless you are hand-flapping or completely incoherent, or so astute that they would notice mannerisms indicating that you are putting it on. Moreover, the process can take several years.

    Let me put it another way:

    How likely do you think it would be that someone who is highly trained and educated, and who has not previously shown any inclination to take advantage of the system, would want to falsely seek a diagnosis of autism or ASD? Does anyone know of someone who fits that description?

Reply

  • Thanks for the replies. It seems to me that it would be a lot of trouble to go to in order to get a diagnosis for the purpose of receiving benefits, for example. For one thing, it takes a long time to get a diagnosis. For another thing, once you have a diagnosis, you aren't entitled to anything unless you can prove that your condition amounts to a disability under the law. To seek a diagnosis and get benefits, you would have to be seen by at least a GP, the specialist to whom the GP refers you, and the person who evaluates you for the purpose of determining whether you are entitled to benefits. You would take the risk that any of those people could be so ignorant that they won't accept that you have the condition unless you are hand-flapping or completely incoherent, or so astute that they would notice mannerisms indicating that you are putting it on. Moreover, the process can take several years.

    Let me put it another way:

    How likely do you think it would be that someone who is highly trained and educated, and who has not previously shown any inclination to take advantage of the system, would want to falsely seek a diagnosis of autism or ASD? Does anyone know of someone who fits that description?

Children
  • in reply to DragonCat16

    I'm not even sure that I've ever met another autistic person, although the odds are that I probably have at some point in my life I just wasn't aware of it. So, I certainly haven't met anyone claiming fraudulently to be autistic. 

    As others have said though, aside from hoping to fraudulently claim benefits, why would anyone want to pretend to have AS? Do you mean in terms of Munchausen Syndrome? (To gain attention for being unwell in some way?) I can't think of any other reason for anyone to do this. 

    People generally commit fraud for a gain of some kind and I can't think of any gain for someone to pretend to have AS other than those two. Can you? Do you know or suspect someone who fits that description? I'd be genuinely interested to know what their motivation was!