4 ms·

I just checked that guy's page in Research Gate [0] and it's a collection of hundreds of two page essays where he reads a biography of a famous person and ends

I just checked that guy's page in Research Gate [0] and it's a collection of hundreds of two page essays where he reads a biography of a famous person and ends on a "conclusion" declaring that person was autistic. They're so badly written than some of them declare the "autism" in the title, but then on the "conclusion" say something else. On his website he says that in 2010 reached "...a milestone of diagnosing over 5,000 individuals with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, showcasing his extensive clinical expertise and commitment to patient care.". Even if I do the math from the beginning of his research in the 70s, that's a diagnose every two or three days non stop including weekends. He's either a) counting all the diagnoses done on the clinics he owns (I've seen referrals in Reddit), b) Counting his quick diagnoses that he makes from a biography he reads in the morning, c) really doing 3 or 4 diagnoses a week, while doing his research, giving interviews, appearing in Hitler documentaries [1] and writing books. -- 0: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael-Fitzgerald-6 1: https://professormichaelfitzgerald.eu/695-2/

kbelder 12d ago
>...a milestone of diagnosing over 5,000 individuals with autism and Asperger’s syndrome Maybe he spent an afternoon browsing HN? Seriously, I agree, remote diagnosis of psychological conditions is wildly unprofessional, and in this case the schtick this guy is working is a huge red flag. Nobody should take him seriously.
- nephihaha 12d ago
  > Maybe he spent an afternoon browsing HN? I laughed at that, I probably shouldn't have. From what I can tell, autism is so still woefully undiagnosed within Ireland, so that's maybe why he's so keen to expand that figure. (Scotland too, by the way... Unless you're a child here, they make you jump through umpteen hoops before they even consider assessing you.)
nephihaha 12d ago
Good grief, his diagnoses include Akhenaten, David Bowie, Salazar, Derrida, Rachel Carson, Boole, and that's just page one. Page two features Frankie Howerd, Kissinger, Gaudi, Georgia O' Keefe, Steinbeck, Jeremiah (from the Bible), Cézanne, Henry Ford, Shakespeare, Eisenstein, Anthony Burgess and Hawking. He casts his net wide and the question remains which historical personages did not have autism or neurodivergence according to Prof. Fitzgerald. I'm sure it's a great consolation to many autistic people that Lord Haw Haw, Goering, Hitler and Eichmann are all declared by him to be on the spectrum. p.s. He's probably right about Al Capone having Antisocial Personality Disorder.

kbelder 12d ago

>...a milestone of diagnosing over 5,000 individuals with autism and Asperger’s syndrome Maybe he spent an afternoon browsing HN? Seriously, I agree, remote diagnosis of psychological conditions is wildly unprofessional, and in this case the schtick this guy is working is a huge red flag. Nobody should take him seriously.

nephihaha 12d ago
> Maybe he spent an afternoon browsing HN? I laughed at that, I probably shouldn't have. From what I can tell, autism is so still woefully undiagnosed within Ireland, so that's maybe why he's so keen to expand that figure. (Scotland too, by the way... Unless you're a child here, they make you jump through umpteen hoops before they even consider assessing you.)

nephihaha 12d ago

Good grief, his diagnoses include Akhenaten, David Bowie, Salazar, Derrida, Rachel Carson, Boole, and that's just page one. Page two features Frankie Howerd, Kissinger, Gaudi, Georgia O' Keefe, Steinbeck, Jeremiah (from the Bible), Cézanne, Henry Ford, Shakespeare, Eisenstein, Anthony Burgess and Hawking. He casts his net wide and the question remains which historical personages did not have autism or neurodivergence according to Prof. Fitzgerald. I'm sure it's a great consolation to many autistic people that Lord Haw Haw, Goering, Hitler and Eichmann are all declared by him to be on the spectrum. p.s. He's probably right about Al Capone having Antisocial Personality Disorder.