Why do so many people think Autism and Asperger's Syndrome aren't real?

I think one of the reasons why some people think Asperger's syndrome/autism are not real is that so many people who don't really have them have self-diagnosed themselves with those disorders and then go around telling other people they have them and using their Asperger's/autism as an excuse for things that don't really have anything to do with Asperger's/autism.

When people see so many such idiots misrepresenting Asperger's/autism, they start to think that those disorders are not real and that they were just made up so that people could have an excuse for bad behaviors.

A lot of people are really ignorant about Asperger's syndrome/autism and a part of the reason is that they've encountered so many fakes that they've gotten completely wrong ideas about what those disorders are really like and how they really affect people who have them.

I have Asperger's syndrome myself and I'm really annoyed with all the ignorance that's out there about autism spectrum disorders, and I'm annoyed with people who claim to have those disorders when they've really just self-diagnosed and act like that's an equally valid diagnosis that they may use as they wish to get their way. All the fakes out there are misrepresenting autism spectrum disorders and giving the rest of us a bad name and causing us a lot of trouble. I wish people would stop doing that and that other people would stop judging all of us based on bad experiences they've had with a few self-diagnosed people.

Because everyone seems to have it. Everyone is inflexible, everyone lacks empathy, lot of people get obsessed or have special interests, everyone stims, everyone has troubles fitting in and have a hard time relating. Some people just don't understand the condition and know the difference. Some think AS is a new word for being very smart because that is what the media portrays it as sometimes, some think AS is the new word for being socially awkward or inept or not being able to fit in because of how it's portrayed, and then of course lot of people self diagnose when they don't actually have it. They probably don't even bother doing lot of research about it to see if they really have it or not. And there are aspies online who use their AS as an excuse to be a jerk so people probably also think AS is a new word for jerks.

And the DSM criteria, I hear anyone can meet it. That is why I am not fond of self diagnoses and am always skeptical when they claim to have AS when they have never been diagnosed. Unless they start talking about their problems, then when it does become obvious that they have it, then I will think it is very likely they have it.

I think the ones with true AS, ones who are at the severe end or moderate, people will see the big difference. Mild aspies, I think it be hard to tell unless you know them long enough to see the symptoms, notice they are odd or weird or different than lot of people but might not even guess they have a disability. I think the milder you are, the harder it is to see it but that also is a problem too because then people may think they don't have it and are using it as an excuse and might not take their problems seriously.

It's an excuse for bad behavior, and the diagnostic criteria are really vague and can apply to almost anyone with an active imagination.

The result - everyone lacking self-confidence thinks they have it, and some self-diagnose and tell other people they have it to get away with their own shortcomings.

I think it's a real diagnosis when a professional is the one deciding if a person has it, but it's pretty much an empty statement if it's coming from the person themselves. I mean, we're all 'out of it', socially awkward, rude, etc. at times, you know what I mean?

I think the rhetoric around them are clouded by the media and most of the public is simply uneducated about them.

The word autism encompasses a lot, but the media blurs all the lines.

Because Asperger behavior IS bad behavior to neurotypicals. And Asperger syndrome has become the most over self-diagnosed disability ever. Asperger syndrome is a disability for "smart" people - so it has less of the stigma associated with other disabilities. Nobody would ever brag about having spina bifida, but people do brag about having Asperger syndrome.

Zeus is an idiot who knows nothing.

Aspergers is real and those who think otherwise are too stupid to think.

Both are self-indulgent cop-outs for those who have devised an excuse for bad behavior. There's nothing wrong that a stout dose of discipline and liberal punishment would not cure. There are enough PC do-gooders who will champion any nutty group so that the loonies can get away with it. Same thing as a guy who is caught fooling around on his wife suddenly claiming he has a "sex obsession". It's all PC baloney.

How many people?

What percentage of them over 12 years of age?

And how do you know?

Perhaps they think that if they ignore it long enough it will go away?

people who think this are obviously uneducated buffoons ignore them..