Hi s4ndm4n2006,

(I hope this post does not cause anyone distress.)

I am so glad you mentioned BPD and bipolar. Perhaps you do not have these illnesses. It is common for women who have an ASD to get diagnosed with these disorders. Getting tested is worth it.

Like you, I was also diagnosed with BPD and bipolar II in the mid 1990s, when I was a teenager. I always had an issue with the BPD Dx because the suicidal and SI associated with it began shortly after I started taking Zoloft at the age of 16. This behavior disappeared with I stopped the medication. Other traits unique to BPD did not fit, whatsoever, such as the fear of being alone and abandoned, and the chronic feelings of emptiness. This label also failed to describe the kind of relationships I had with people (lack of). Even the impulsive behaviors listed in the DSM like gambling etc.... were not a problem. Moodiness, anger, SI and suicidal ideation (SSRI induced) were the only things I could agree with.

I read all I could about BPD. The more I discovered, I knew I was misdiagnosed. This Dx could not describe my life long social troubles and lack of friends. Other issues, such as: my very acute senses, stimming, apparent deafness, boundary issues, lack of eye contact, tantrums, speech impediment, aggressiveness, obsessions, anxiety, bullying, concrete and literal thinking etc.... could not be accounted for with BPD.

The psychiatrists failed to look into my childhood. Many suspected I had an ASD but never bothered to look into it. It was all there. All they had to do was ask but they were blinded by the BPD Dx, that was in vogue in the 1990s. If you had autistic 'symptoms' as a child share that with the assessor. Tell them everything. Mention the online testing and your children.

Getting the proper diagnosis was liberating and relieving. It explained everything, especially my sensory issues that resembled depersonalization. The psychiatrists told me I was abused and so forth. I was never ever abused. They confused and traumatized me. Now, I see why treatment did not work. AS has allowed me to heal, forgive myself and discuss my real problems that I feared talking about with the psychiatrists. Finally, I am getting proper assistance.

Getting tested is worth it especially if you had autistic behaviors as a young child and are a grown woman.

I did the RDOS test too. Aspie: 150/200 and NT (non-autistic): 70/200