Why is autism misdiagnosed

Sarah had been diagnosed as autistic since a child, but when she was in her teens, she experienced a serious sexual assault coupled with a housing problem and began to feel suicidal. She was admitted to a psychiatric day hospital and invited to a care planning assessment. In the meeting eight professionals bombarded her with questions from all directions, including questions about the assault.

As a result, Sarah asked whether she could answer such questions with only her keyworker present. This diagnosis had a drastic impact. One of the worst was when Sarah developed severe pain in her back. Multiple times this was dismissed as nothing, with doctors citing her BPD. The overlap between the two conditions has been confirmed by research carried out by a team from the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University led by Dr Robert Dudas, a Visiting Researcher at the Department of Psychiatry.

Charlie had an original diagnosis of autism but in when she was just 18 she found herself with a BPD diagnosis. Updated August 23, pm. Smaller font Descrease article font size - A. Share this item on Facebook facebook Share this item via WhatsApp whatsapp Share this item on Twitter twitter Send this page to someone via email email Share this item on Pinterest pinterest Share this item on LinkedIn linkedin Share this item on Reddit reddit Copy article link Copy link.

Story continues below advertisement. View link ». Leave a comment Comments. Sponsored content. We must continue to inform the professional services and community and empower individuals — male and female — to recognise the signs and feel comfortable accessing the right support. At Clinical Partners our specialist clinicians have years of experience diagnosing autism in children and adults, both male and female.

To find out more, visit the autism hub or call our experienced triage team on For almost two decades, Hannah has been working in the field of autism spectrum and co-occurring conditions, and is currently writing up a PhD exploring the differences in the clinical presentation of autistic males and females.

Hannah works with young people and adults delivering autism awareness workshops and psycho-education sessions for women and girls. View Hannah's Profile. Sign in to manage your care. Login to your clinician portal. In order to provide you with the best online experience, this website uses cookies. Delete cookies. Many common mental health symptoms in kids can be caused by more than one thing.

Finding out the real cause is important because it affects what kind of treatment they get. Kids need the right treatment in order to feel better. But sometimes, when they have symptoms that are easy to confuse with another disorder, they get the wrong diagnosis. Kids who have trouble paying attention are often diagnosed with ADHD. But attention problems can also be signs of other disorders, including anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD , post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD and learning issues.

Kids who have repeated, upsetting thoughts are often diagnosed with PTSD. But they could also have OCD. The difference is that with PTSD, the child is remembering something that actually happened, rather than things they fear. Difficulty speaking is a common symptom of autism, but it can also be a sign of an anxiety disorder called selective mutism. Kids with selective mutism can speak easily at home or with familiar people but struggle in school or with new people. When kids feel very sad and have low energy, depression is usually diagnosed.

However, anxiety disorders, especially OCD, can also cause these feelings. A medical condition called hypothyroidism can also cause symptoms that look like depression. Disruptive behavior is another symptom that can have many causes. A lot of kids with behavior problems are diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder ODD. When you have a headache, you know there are many possible causes, ranging from the mild to the very serious. Without a thorough assessment and examination, it would be absurd for your doctor to diagnose you with a brain tumor or the flu, both of which can give you a headache.

And, of course, the treatment for a brain tumor and a virus would look very different. The same thing is true of mental illness: many common symptoms occur for a variety of reasons, and can reflect several different diagnoses. Here we take a look at some of the common psychiatric symptoms that are easily misinterpreted in children and teenagers, leading to misdiagnosis. For each symptom, we explain the diagnosis it is commonly linked to, and what some of the alternate causes for what that behavior might be.

This list is only meant to be used as a guide, and it is important to always consult with a trained diagnostician before beginning treatment or assigning a label to your child. The common diagnosis: ADHD.