IS YOUR AUTISM DIAGNOSIS FAKE??

Dr. Aris Lavranos and Amy Hamm sit down with journalist Christina Buttons to discuss her recent Free Press article in which she reveals that she was misdiagnosed with autism, and what that experience uncovered about a growing and troubling trend in modern psychiatry.

Christina shares her personal journey of receiving an autism diagnosis, the doubts that followed, and the investigative work that led her to question whether her diagnosis was based on genuine clinical assessment… or something else entirely.

The conversation digs into a pattern Christina identified in her reporting: that some psychiatrists and mental health professionals are increasingly diagnosing patients with autism in order to validate what their clients want to hear, rather than to reflect an objective medical reality. The result, she argues, is a system where patient satisfaction has begun to override clinical rigor.

Together, Dr. Lavranos, Amy, and Christina explore the consequences of this diagnostic drift, for patients who may be misled about their own mental health, for the integrity of the psychiatric profession, and for the growing number of people seeking answers about who they really are.