Published on 12, July, 2020
Ok I have a son who has Asd and another who is under pychy who supposdley has Bpd, now this evening I have been doing loads of research to find out a lot of autistic people are being diagnosed as bpd when they are in actual fact Asd, I have mentioned this to my sons coordinator in the past to get him tested for Asd but nothing came of it. Just to say though when he first got sectioned the hospital said he had Asd, but I have heard nothing of it since. He fits the criteria of Asd more than he fits bpd, I just wondered if anyone else vould give me some more info. I seriously feel like them telling him he has Bpd does not fit, that does not mean I do not want him to have it, but it does not fit if that makes sense.
Hello. I have heard of several cases of autism being misdiagnosed as 'borderline personality disorder' (BPD or 'emotionally unstable personality disorder', EUPD).
A friend had a diagnosis of BPD for many years as an adult, but since an autism diagnosis the misdiagnosis has been removed. This seems to be a well-known trend; in fact misdiagnosis is one of the biggest problems with autistic adults getting help. That doesn't necessarily mean that 'personality disorders' are not useful labels to some people, or that you can't have a diagnosis of both BPD and autism. The misdiagnosis seems particularly common in women, as there is a traditional male stereotype of Asperger syndrome, and a traditional female stereotype of EUPD/BPD. However, another confusion is that it's based on limited behaviour that turns up in mental health services, and supposedly inexplicable mental distress and meltdowns may lead a professional to assume all kinds of BPD motives around relationships with others and with authority that don't apply in autism. If you're autistic and alexithymic, you might not know any differently (I mean if a therapist suggests some unconscious motivation to me, all I can agree is it's not conscious) or be able to speak up.
One problem with a BPD diagnosis is that it implies a particular relationship to services and getting help, as seen in this recent post:https://community.autism.org.uk/f/health-and-wellbeing/12600/can-t-access-mental-health-services
Here's another story, from Danny, a couple of weeks ago: https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/13008/looking-for-advice
Some discussion about coexisting diagnoses:https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/8666/thoughts-about-autism-and-bpd
Here are some other threads or comments mentioning the misdiagnosis (searching for "borderline personality" may find more):
Here's a story based on some research, and also mentioning bipolar affective disorder (which has strong emotional states in common)..
https://www.autismresearchtrust.org/News/borderline-personality-disorder-or-autism
I would support you sharing your concerns. The fact your other son is autistic may help convince mental health professionals who believe there is a genetic or hereditary component to autism, but a lot still think autism is only useful in a tiny number of people who are mostly non-verbal.