In Defence of Amanda Baggs

This blog corrects the record as presented on the blog "Amanda Baggs Autism Controversy".

*In 1995, at 15 years old, and for considerable time (it’s believed about 1 year), Amanda Baggs publically claimed (to family, friends, acquaintances, doctors, and one (perhaps more) Internet discussion groups), and publically presented herself, as having Dissociative Identity Disorder, (formerly called ‘Multiple Personality Disorder’).

*Prior to this, Amanda Baggs had a verbal diagnosis on the Autistic Spectrum.

*From about 1996 through 1998, Amanda publically claimed and publically presented herself as having Schizophrenia.

*This diagnosis was made by a quack by the name of Harvey Biala.

*In June 1997, Amanda publically apologized for deceiving both herself, and others, with her claim of Dissociative Identity Disorder.

*All statements by Amanda between 1996 and 2000 should be primarily ignored, due to the influence of the drugs she had to take for the non existent schizophrenia.

*In about 2000, at about 20 years old, she began publically claiming and publically presenting herself as having low functioning autism (profound non-verbal autism), though having the ability to communicate normally through typed-communication).

*Many low functioning Autistics can communicate via a typepad.

*In January 2007, she began publicizing her autism, and her typed-communication ability, through YouTube videos which she filmed and edited. In February 2007, the media company CNN became interested in Amanda due to her YouTube video, and did several written and television segments on her.

*Not disputed.

*In mid-2007, several former 1994-1995 classmates of hers from Simon’s Rock College stepped forward to CNN and on various Internet websites to express their confusion and shock at how Amanda was presenting herself. Each consistently testified to her being a relatively fully functioning student at 14-15 years old at Simon’s Rock College (which is a highly selective college for gifted pre-college-aged students). Each attests that she was a fluent verbal communicator, attended classes and took part in the class discussions at a normal level, ate in the cafeteria on a many times a day basis, was fully functional physically, had a boyfriend, had many friends and acquaintances, etc. Moreover, each attests to how she was not autistic in any sense, and that she never reported being autistic.

*Prior to Simon's Rock, Amanda showed all the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome. To the untrained eye, this is impossible to detect and it is possible to function on these levels. So the assertion to the lack of Autistic behavior is wrong.

*Later in 1995, shortly before her withdrawal from Simon’s Rock College (SRC), several of her former SRC friends (one of which is now a neuroscientist, and another of which is now a Ph.D candidate in Psychology and has been a mental health professional for many years) attest to how she aggressively used LSD and psilocybin for about three months, and on a near daily basis. The SRC friends attest to how they observed her undergo psychotic behavior during and after this 3 month period, including exclaiming that she was an ‘elf’, digging in the school yard for what she believed to be a listening device implanted in the ground, suicide attempts and self-injurious behavior, aggression toward others, her report of auditory hallucinations and the witnessing of her behaving as if she was listening to and talking with auditory hallucinations, etc.

*This is a total lie. The LSD usage was not much, and the rest of that has been totally made up.

Daniel Drucker in particular is a liar and a crook. Ophelia Austin Small is the same. This is all that needs to be said in defence of Amanda Baggs. She is Autistic, always has been and always will be.