Experience of mental health diagnosis and perceived misdiagnosis in autistic, possibly autistic and non-autistic adults.
Autistic adults often feel their autism is misread as mental illness—screen for autism before assigning psychiatric labels.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Greene et al. (2019) asked autistic and possibly-autistic adults about every mental-health label they had ever received.
They used an online survey so people could answer from home.
The team wanted to know how many of these adults felt the labels were wrong.
What they found
Most people had been given at least one psychiatric diagnosis.
Many said the label did not fit them.
They felt doctors were calling autism traits something else, like anxiety or bipolar disorder.
How this fits with other research
Fombonne et al. (2020) surveyed almost three thousand autistic adults and also saw piles of psychiatric labels.
Their big numbers back up the worry: autism traits are often re-named as mental illness.
Wetterneck et al. (2006) built a kid interview that separates autism from add-on disorders.
That early tool shows the same mix-up can start in childhood and last into adult services.
Houghton et al. (2017) found two-thirds of insured autistic people take psych meds, sometimes without any extra diagnosis.
Together these papers say the field keeps treating autism as a mental-health problem instead of a different neurotype.
Why it matters
Before you write "anxiety disorder" or "mood disorder" in a report, stop and screen for autism first.
Ask the client if past labels ever felt wrong.
A quick autism checklist can save years of useless treatments and side-effects.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Previous research shows that autistic people have high levels of co-occurring mental health conditions. Yet, a number of case reports have revealed that mental health conditions are often misdiagnosed in autistic individuals. A total of 420 adults who identified as autistic, possibly autistic or non-autistic completed an online survey consisting of questions regarding mental health diagnoses they received, whether they agreed with those diagnoses and if not why. Autistic and possibly autistic participants were more likely to report receiving mental health diagnoses compared to non-autistic participants, but were less likely to agree with those diagnoses. Thematic analysis revealed the participants' main reasons for disagreement were that (1) they felt their autism characteristics were being confused with mental health conditions by healthcare professionals and (2) they perceived their own mental health difficulties to be resultant of ASC. Participants attributed these to the clinical barriers they experienced, including healthcare professionals' lack of autism awareness and lack of communication, which in turn prevented them from receiving appropriate support. This study highlights the need for autism awareness training for healthcare professionals and the need to develop tools and interventions to accurately diagnose and effectively treat mental health conditions in autistic individuals.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2019 · doi:10.1177/1362361318818167