Being Diagnosed with Autism/AS By Mistake

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How many people do you think will be diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum who are not really autistic?

I read that the rate of misdiagnosis is fairly low for ASDs, and they're quite uniform in how they manifest compared to other disorders that are diagnosed based on behavioural manifestations (everyone is affected differently, of course, but the diagnostic criteria are in place to pick up the most common signs and symptoms).

Social difficulties are encountered by many, A.S. or not. If all sorts of people with social difficulties wind up getting diagnosed as AS, then, yes, there is a problem. Hopefully, those who can make official diagnoses of A.S. do consider logical foundations for their diagnoses, such as psychometric testing, verifiable childhood history, verifiable family history of ASDs, and genetic testing.

I wonder if the recent autism hysteria could lead to increases in misdiagnosis.

wtf, were not a f*****g tread were not like the latest handbag or somethin this is serious & some people seem to think it's funny to pretend to be autistic when there not is quite sad & disturbing & makes it worse for us true autistics.

I'm inclined to believe it doesn't happen often. But it's not a subject that I know a lot about.

I dunno, but if it stops people from being diagnosed as psychotic and thrown into asylums then it's alright.

Someone once told me when I was 17 that 1 in 100 are NT, meaning they are misdiagnosed. I used to fear I was one of them and started to go crazy what I might have or I am just someone who is crazy.

AMEN! Having had that happen to me, I am glad it happens less and less to others!

Merle

According to some speech therapists I've worked with, young children can sometimes be diagnosed as autistic when they merely have a language disorder. It usually becomes obvious within a few years that the kids are not autistic after all.

Many were, especially in the 90s, including myself. An abusive upbringing can cause asperger'/austic-like traits, but unlike true autism they fade away quickly.

It is my experience that ASDs are more commonly misdiagnosed as other things. Not the other way around.

I was diagnosed as psychotic...twice.

I think Asperger's is very underdiagnosed. ADHD, on the other hand, is overdiagnosed.

I was committed to the State Institution when I was 17 in 1968. I was put on an 'experimental' ward (Boysen North) because they were not sure what was going on with me,( they "didn't have a drawer for my file" is what my psychologist said) but I was sure locked up just as tight as those with schitzophrenia and psychosis.

I actually 'escaped' on a day pass and ran off to what became the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and I have been out of their clutches since, although I did go back when my folks died and packed up their house, etc.

Merle

I think it's the other way round - people are more often diagnosed with other conditions long before the rightful ASD is acknowledged.

I remember speaking with a neurologist (who fancies himself as a big banana in the neuro-psych world) about the rise of Aspergers. He immediately dismissed ASDs and said that it was all a trendy fad. Well, I guess he's never read any Cambridge AC research Some of these self-appointed 'experts' truly are tossers.