Hey,
So I've known Amanda since 1994. I went to Simon's Rock College with
her. I have the year book to prove it. I also dated her brother Jeremy
from early 1996 until mid 1998. So to say I've got a good history here
is an understatement.
Amanda went to Simon's Rock at 14. She was very bright. And normal.
She lived in a dorm, like everyone else. She had a boyfriend named
Karl, who she was sexually active with. Folks walked in on her. Karl &
she both told me themselves in various contexts. She went to classes,
wrote papers, ate in the cafeteria, talked, danced, shat in the
toilet, etc.
Then she took an assload of hallucinogens. Repeatedly. During spring
break of 1995 she n-talked me (remember n-talk?) and was concerned
because she couldn't come down (stop hallucinating) from a large
amount of mushrooms. Her solution was to take some LSD to
counterbalance it. She claimed this worked.
Soon after she declared herself an elf.
Then the voices started, and the odd clothes, and the rest of the
schizophrenia stuff. She believed she was an elf, mind control, that
people poisoned her food, etc. She was involved with the cops several
times, once when she was found digging in the back field of her former
middle school, looking for a mind control device. She tried to jump
out of the car I was in with her brother a few times, requiring
restraint.
She left school. In and out of institutions for awhile, initially
declared multiple personality, later paranoid schizophrenic. She was
in a place in Fresno for almost a year. She walked and talked and did
all sorts of normal stuff. She was psychotic though.
Her mother bought into things hook, line, and sinker. Believed she was
MPD. Refused, REFUSED to believe schizophrenia. Amanda was trotted to
every doctor you can imagine. Perhaps it was atypical epilepsy (it
wasn't). Multiple personality (nope). Sensory issues (WTF?). For a
long time they believed it was trauma, since Amanda claimed her
brother SHane sexually abused her, and told me, somewhat graphically,
about being anally raped by him. Now Shane seems to be in her good
graces again. I wonder where Jeremy went, and why she never talks
about him?
This is most of a letter written by a friend of Amanda Baggs who knew her at Simon's Rock College.
Anyway, she's not autistic. She is manipulative. She is schizophrenic.
She is likely malingering. Payoff is big- no school, no work,
attention constantly. Amanda is terminally special. Always has been.
As for me, I have spoken to Jeremy since 09/2001. I saw Amanda on CNN
and nearly crapped myself. I have worked with folks with developmental
disorders for years. Her faking is offensive.
Anyway, if you want more info, let me know.
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19 comments:
Hey,
I've been an avid reader of your blog(s) ever since my 3-year-old nephew was diagnosed as severely autistic about a year ago. I must admit I do not necessarily agree with everything you say, but I am so glad that someone like you is around to say things that need to be said (because so many others are afraid of saying them.)
Anyway, I came across this story, and wondered if you've seen it yet:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080217/favaro_carly_080217/20080217?hub=Canada
I think it's a very hopeful story for parents of kids with autism, but most importantly- it's very clear that at least this severely autistic young woman wishes she could be cured.
There's a transcript of her Q&A session too:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080215/carly_writings_080215/20080217/
Yes, I saw it. It's a great story.
Amanda Baggs featured in Wired artcle:
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-03/ff_autism?currentPage=all
Amanda is about 13 minutes into her 15 minutes of fame. She can't last much longer until she is exposed as a fraud. I wonder what he will re-invent herself as after autism becomes boring.
Has anybody noticed anytime a real autistic (such as this 13 year oldgirl) gets any attention Baggs is right in there trying to steal off of it, trying to compete and get in on it?
I think Amanda's only just getting started.
Here's actually hoping this creature continues to get bigger and fatter, maybe her god damned heart will finally explode, maybe with her insatiable craving for attention and getting her face and scam out there she'll eventually manage to keep it going (seems to be getting good at it) enough to warrant the attention of paparazzi who can serve finally to expose her sorry con-artist ass for what she is.
Or, it'll go on forever as it becomes harder and harder as time goes on to expose her at all as the media and propoganda artists around her continue to close their ranks around her with everybody else who knows better just watching and looking on and allowing it to happen.
"Evil triumphs when good men stand by and do nothing"
Autistic is one thing, ugly is another. Whatever happened to the stereotype of the beautiful autistic child? Physical beauty was on the list of diagnostic prerequisites years ago. Did they take it off the list so Baggs could fit the critera since eveyone out there seems determined to say she is autistic. Her beard makes a great argument for the full length burquer.
The original post is a lie. Amanda was not normal at Simon's Rock - she was gifted. She was not taking drugs continually, and any later issues were the result of being at the college when she shouldn't have been.
The person who wrote that message in the opening post did not the know the real Amanda at the time and doesn't know her now.
Kim,
Did you change Amanda's diapers at SRC? Could she talk? Was she an elf? Did she flap her ahnds all day long and nobody noticed?
Amanda is an elf. A very large crazy elf. We had to kick her out of the United Society of Elves, Leprecauns and Pixies when she broke into the Hollow Tree and ate all the Keebler cookies. Now she wanders around pretending to be autistic. Hey, whatever floats her boat. As long as she stays away from the Hollow Tree it's all good.
-Finli
hah that was hilarious. Keebler elves.
Anyway, I don't believe Amanda at all.
Amanda stimmed on occasion at Simon's Rock. That's the same as flapping. She wasn't normal. She was different. And yes, no one noticed.
Okay... Google has failed me. What the hell is n-talk?
I think N-talk was a way of chatting when the internet was first developed.
Vaccine controversy is the least of our worries. We need to have more investigative journalists cover the epidemic of frauds infiltrating the autism community. As in Amanda Baggs, the woman who took a copious amount of LSD, fried her brain, then, in a pervasive delusional state, went on the internet with her buddy and studied autistic people until she became a skilled character actress. Then there’s Ari Ne’eman, who is a man diagnosed with Aspergers at 20 yrs of age, then suddenly shoots to fame as the self appointed autism spokesperson. Not to forget the ever articulate and so autistic lady, katie miller, oh yea, now there’s a rain chick If we ever saw one. Go Kate. Before Kate, of course, there is the artsy autie, Donna Williams, a multiple personality disorder who has one personality that is autistic. Quite interesting, indeed. And the list goes on. You have Horse Boy, who was ADHD, not autistic. You have Son Rise, who was perhaps not autistic. You have McCarthy’s boy who was definately not autistic and then there’s kids swimming with dolphins, taking B=12, DMG and wa la, they are now non autistic. Oh wait. We forgot the Defying Autism author who says her child was possessed with demons and after “deliverance” he is now a happy boy. Oh boy, it just never ends. And ya know why? Because not enough investigative journalists have taken the time to look at this. They have not connected the dots. They have failed to see the frauds and the hype. Gee, remember Cho, the whack job who the naive media labeled autistic but he was mentally ill? And the Pentagon hacker? Oh yea, sorry, I was like so autistic when I did it. You know the ole’s saying: if a lie goes unexposed the people think it’s okay to keep lying. It’s basic behaviorism 101, NOT enough people are challenging the frauds of autism so they keep growing in numbers, fooling the media. Lying. Posing as autistics to the detriment of those who are dealing with real autism. Maybe would could get Saturday Night Live to do a skit? Everyone's autistic now.....join the spectrum and you too can have autism. Throwing everyone in a spectrum hurts aspies and auties of all levels. Probably the reason most journalists are scared to cover the frauds most notable in autism community is because they are too ignorant about autism to discern what is and what is not autism. Let's hope they educate themselves. Disgusted in San Jose, CA
Excellent point. Some of us have been trying for a couple of years to have a story published about Baggs. Several have been arranged but they always back off.
I was a very close friend of Amanda from elementary school. We would spend every moment we could together, even having our parents buy matching clothes for us. She was an incredible genius, played several instruments, spoke several languages, painted, rode horses, sewed, was in musical productions like "Annie". You name it she did it, better than most people. She was incredibly articulate and incredibly bright. Brilliant in fact. Finding photographs of our time together made me try to find her online. I was shocked by the videos and posts I have seen tonight. The last I remember speaking with amanda she was home from a break home from college, which she entered at the age of 15. I'm the mother of a nine year old autistic child. His condition has been prevalent since birth. If Amanda's condition is indeed Autism, I would be shocked. I have not heard of a type of Autism that progressively gets worse as time passes.
Amanda blew out her brains with LSD. Perhaps she was part of the MK Ultra program.
Amanda Baggs was featured in Wired Magazine and on CNN with Dr. Gupta, so it's really sad to see that media is still failing to do background checks on the medical claims of people presenting as autistics. Apparently, no reporters or investigative journalists have bothered to uncover the amanda baggs hoax. She's right up there with Desiree Jennings. Interestingly, Jenny McCarthy helped Desiree Jennings, and McCarthy herself is one of the biggest frauds to ever infiltrate the autism community. Her son Evan, was never autistic, yet she claims to be an expert in autism. A total joke and tragic display of ignorance in media regarding real autism.
I was so moved by her video when I first saw it. I wish it was genuine and organic, I am disappointed by the apparent fact that this woman is in fact a fraud and not autistic.
I think the video she made, In My Language, is still valuable in and of itself, but I am disappointed by the information I have found on this very helpful blog. Thank you for having the courage to dissent.
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