Expert: Ettina - 7/31/2009

Question
can a lower end of spectrum child lie and continue that lie over a long period.and also add further lies onto the original lie

Answer
It depends on the individual. Lying is difficult for autistic people (even I have trouble lying, and I'm high functioning) but every autistic person is unique. A lot of people think the spectrum is like a straight line, with point B being more autistic than point A and so on, but there are actually many different facets to autism that vary independently - IQ, social understanding, compulsiveness, sensory/motor issues, etc. IQ and sensory/motor issues are the big determinants of functioning level - low functioning autistics are those who have low IQs, severe sensory/motor issues, or both. An individual with severe sensory/motor issues but a high IQ is often greatly underestimated, and if they have a fairly good degree of social understanding as well, they could be able to deceive people pretty well. And if they weren't too compulsive about telling the truth (this is why I don't lie very well).
However, it would be a fairly unusual autistic person who presented as low functioning but was a competent liar. Especially continuing a lie over a lengthy period - that's difficult even for a neurotypical child, although it depends on their age.