I have a female friend who has typical symptoms of both BPD and Aspergers, she has been diagnosed with both conditions and she has become psychotic too at times. I have another friend who's child has Tourettes, but his doctors thought that he might have Aspergers as well, because of some of his behaviours, but they eventually ruled it out... From what I've read about Aspergers, I didn't see it as easily being confused with BPD, as I view BPD as a mental health problem, rather than being an Autism Spectrum Disorder... Could you give any references for the research you mentioned Fiannan? I did a quick google search and did find the following which states that people with Aspergers are more likely to have BPD in addition, than are other Autistic people...it didn't say that Aspergers and BPD are the same, just that some of the BPD symptoms can be overlooked because they are masked by the Aspergers behaviours.. Here's a snip from the article: 'D. Summary from Clinical Case Conference at Harvard Medical School (Frazier, Doyle, Chiu, and Coyle, 2002) 1. Asperger’s Disorder is a pervasive developmental disorder on a diagnostic continuum with Autism 2. Asperger’s Disorder is characterized by a lack of empathy, naïve and inappropriate interactions, a limited ability to form friendships with peers, pedantic and poorly intonated speech, egocentrism, poor nonverbal communication, intense absorption in circumscribed topics, and in some patients, ill-coordinated movements 3. Distinguishing features in Asperger’s Disorder from Autism is the relatively normal speech development, less frequent stereotyped behaviors, and normal intelligence. Average age of diagnosis for patients with Asperger’s is 11 years, compared to 5.5 years in Autism. Asperger’s Disorder occurs in 8.4-10 of 10,0000 children, compared to 2 of 10,0000 children being Autistic. 4. Long-term outcome for patients with Asperger’s Disorder is more favorable than for patients with Autism 5. Comorbidity of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Bipolar Disorder: a. Children with developmental disabilities have a 2-6 times greater risk of experiencing comorbid psychiatric conditions than their developmentally normal peers. b. Several studies reveal an association between Asperger’s Disorder and Bipolar Disorder. Greater risk of bipolar Disorder in family members of individuals with Asperger’s Disorder: Relatives of probands with PDDs have a 4.2% prevalence of bipolar disorder (almost 5 times greater than the general population) and the prevalence is highest among relatives of probands with Asperger’s Disorder (6.1% vs. 3.3% for relatives of probands with Autism). Other studies show conflicting evidence with rates of affective disorder in the Autistic Spectrum Disorder similar to the general population c. Children with Asperger’s Disorder may suffer from mood disorder for years before being recognized because the symptoms of the mood disorder may be masked by the behaviors associated with Asperger’s Disorder (behaviors characteristic of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder such as obsessiveness, hyperactivity, inattention, social intrusiveness, social withdrawal, aggression, and self-injurious behavior may become more pronounced during manic or depressive phases). These changes are usually episodic and occur within the context of the shifting mood state, and are thus responsive to effective treatment of the mood disorder.' http://www.childadvocate.net/aspergers.htm Sorry for all the edits, but I just wanted to add this snip of an article written by a parent who's child appeared to have BPD until he was diagnosed with Aspergers Disorder, at which point his parent (and pyschiatrists I presume) decided that he was getting the symptoms of BPD whenever his all consuming interest in a particular project had ended (his compulsion with projects), thus she no longer believes he has BPD, he just displays those symptoms depending upon whether he is consumed with a project or not and having the face the 'real world' instead: 'Now that we have a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome for our son, I finally understand his mood behavior. He is up, happy and energetic when he has an all consuming interest that he is focused on. Nothing in the real world interfers when he is in his "creative mode". When he is finished his latest project, or interest, the real world comes crashing in along with all the problems associated with getting along with other people, etc. I have learned to prompt him onto another project when he displays extreme sadness and this is working quite well now. When I have asked adults with Asperger Syndrome if the cause of my son's mood swings could be the fact that he has finished his all consuming interest in a topic and cannot think of another topic to move onto, they have indicated that this could be the reason. Parents of children with Asperger Syndrome have told me that they notice their child is much happier when focused on a special interest. So, I have laid my concerns about bipolar disorder to rest, but for those of you still wondering about it, here are some really good links:' http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/asperg...yndrome/63438/1 http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/asperg...yndrome/63438/2
