Misdiagnosed and Misunderstood: When Autism Is Missed — and You're Told It's Borderline Personality Disorder or Bipolar Instead.

Far too often, people are misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, personality disorders, anxiety, severe depression, or even schizophrenia, when, in reality, the correct diagnosis should have been autism or ADHD. 

 

Over the last 10 to 15 years, research and awareness have grown rapidly, helping us to better understand autism. That’s why diagnostic rates have increased, not because more people are becoming autistic, but because we’re finally recognising what was always there. 

 

Many adults receive their diagnosis while being treated for something else. Others begin to realise they might be autistic or have ADHD while going through the diagnostic process with their children. 

 

 

One of the core traits of autism is difficulty with social interaction. But this is often seen as being painfully shy, or socially anxious. These individuals are usually diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, medicated for anxiety, and the autism goes unnoticed. 

 

Autistic and ADHD individuals often struggle with emotional and behavioural regulation. They may go from calm to distressed quickly, have meltdowns, or engage in frequent arguments. If their distress is expressed through anger or “fight” behaviours, they’re often diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Those who shut down or avoid conflict, the “flight” or “freeze” types, are typically labelled with social anxiety. 

 

Many autistic individuals struggle with verbal or non-verbal communication. They might find it hard to process what others are saying quickly, leading to a misdiagnosis of a language-based learning disability, while autism remains undetected. 

 

Autistic people are five times more likely to have difficulties with food, whether it’s sensory issues with texture, strong preferences, or ritualistic eating habits. These are often misunderstood as signs of an eating disorder, with the root cause, autism, still overlooked. 

 

When someone becomes overwhelmed, they may have intense emotional outbursts. Instead of recognising this as a response to sensory or emotional overload, professionals may diagnose them with EUPD (Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder). They’re then medicated for mood instability, instead of being supported to understand their autism. 

 

Albert Einstein is widely believed to have shown traits of autism, ADHD, and possibly dyslexia. His second son, Eduard, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent most of his life in an institution. Many now believe he may also have been autistic, misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and controlled by a system that didn’t understand him. 

 

It’s a pattern that continues today. When you try to control someone with autism, force them into situations they can’t cope with, they will resist. Not out of rebellion, but because it’s too much. And often, that resistance is misread as defiance or aggression. 

 

Some autistic people prefer to be alone. Socialising can be exhausting. But instead of recognising this as a valid preference, they’re diagnosed with depression. 

 

Ritualistic behaviour, sticking to routines, needing things in a certain place, doing tasks on specific days, is another hallmark of autism. But it’s often mistaken for OCD, and again, autism is missed. 

 

Struggling to understand another person’s perspective might lead to a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, but often, it’s just part of being autistic, processing differently, not lacking empathy. 

 

According to a 2017 study, up to 84% of autistic individuals also experience some form of anxiety, and around 17% have OCD. Interestingly, many people diagnosed with OCD may also have undiagnosed autism. 

 

The lines between conditions blur, and unfortunately, autism is still the one that’s too often overlooked. 

 

It’s time to challenge the myths. You are just as likely, if not more, to find an autistic child in a gifted and talented group as in a support group. Autism has nothing to do with intelligence. It’s a different way of thinking, processing, and interacting with the world. 

 

So, if someone you know has been struggling for years, trying different therapies, different medications, and still feeling like nothing fits, take a closer look. It might not be a mood disorder, a personality disorder, or an anxiety disorder.  

 

 

And with the right understanding and support, everything can start to make sense.