Expert: Catherine Ridenour - 4/27/2006

Question
Hi, I'm a 21 year old female from Florida. I've developed quite a few problems over the years, and I thought they were pretty much under control until I went back to school this past fall. Basically, I developed horrible OCD when I was 11; at age 14 my OCD was "replaced" by severe depression; at 16 I became bulimic; at 18 I was placed under the Baker Act after cutting myself and shortly after that I was arrested for possession of Xanax. Ever since then, I've been in and out of therapy and have been on many many medications. I was finally diagnosed with ADD two years ago (I had known all my life, but I am not hyperactive so no one else thought so), as well as   Social Anxiety Disorder.
Something has been wrong with me ever since I was a kid, but I never thought about it that much. However, after finally going back to school last year, I began to notice really weird things about my past and present self. First, I guess I'm smart, but I'm really hard on myself and I get frustrated way too easily.
I am extremely sensitive. I can't watch movies or TV at all anymroe because I can't handle the emotions I get, and I will have nightmares for months if I see a "scary" movie. As a child, I would put medical tape on the tags on my clothes b/c the tags bothered me, but I stopped eventually. The tags started bothering me a few months ago, so I have been cutting them off. That sometimes makes it worse, and I end up ripping a hole where the tag was.
I can't wear jewelry because it bothers me, and the same goes for ankle socks/sweat pants. I seem to be getting worse by the day. I can't concentrate if the tv is on, even if I am no where near it...I can still sense/hear it on. I cannot listen to music, it hurts my ears. I ended up researching ADHD, and I kept coming across articles mentioning Autistic disorders, and I am totally freaked out not because of my symptoms now, but because of how I was as a child, especially the fact that I had a really difficult time understanding people when they spoke, and I myself had a speech impediment. When a song that everyone knew would be playing, I would just sit there amazed at how everyone knew and understood the lyrics. I also have a very hard time maintaining friends- I just can't understand the things some people do. I'm currently not in therapy but I am seeing a psychiatrist regularly. I don't like relying on just medication, but I had a bad experience with the last therapist I had (he was male and said and did some inappropriate things). That's why I am coming to you.
Do you think I could possibly have been misdiagnosed?? I don't know anything about autism, but I have a gut feeling that something is wrong with me, especially because of how sensitive I am to everything.

Answer
Hi Jackie,

It is possible that you were incompletely diagnosed.  I say this, rather than "mis"diagnosed because ADD, social anxiety and such can be part of autism or Asperger's Syndrome.

Your hypersensitivity leads me to believe you may have a spectrum disorder.  It will take a psychiatrist to make the diagnosis.  If you trust the one you are seeing now, ask him/her to help you do the assessment.  If you don't, ask for a referral to someone familiar with Autistic Spectrum Disorders in young adults.

Here are some web links to information:

http://www.patientcenters.com/autism/news/resources.html

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/asperger/asperger.htm

http://www.autism.org/temple/meds.html

http://www.autism.org/

http://www.autismasperger.net/intro.htm

http://www.mentalhealth.com/

This last one has a diagnositic tool you can use to input your symptoms and get a "maybe this is possible" diagnosis.  You'll still need to professional.

Best wishes to you,
Catherine