How Likely Is A Misdiagnosis Of ASD

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I've read a lot of stories about doctors missing ASD and diagnosing something else. I realise that a lot of misdiagnosis are because it wasn't discovered.

Presently , How likely is it that you don't have ASD but get a diagnosis of it. What other disorders could mislead a Doctor? Or is it very easy to diagnose even "mild" ASD.

I am sure it is very easy for someone (like psychologist Tony Attwood) with specialist competence, an informed understanding, long exposure to AS people clinically, to recognise AS in all its differing manifestations accurately and speedily without gender or age bias. It seems that he is a remarkable exception, given the accounts of missed and misdiagnosis that I have read on WP. Many of those tell of 'only' being diagnosed with anxiety, this seems to be the most common mistake that clinicians make, they don't seem to know that this is a common co-morbid which is only one aspect of the many signs of AS. Some seem to have gained an "understanding" of AS from ignorant information posted on the web!

There is currently no definitive test that can categorically prove autism with no chance of error. Autism diagnosis is essentially a subjective decision made by a clinician, based on their observations, plus questionnaire results and answers to direct questions, of the person undergoing assessment. Because the assessment is subjective there always exists the possibilty of a misdiagnosis but clinicians are trained and when that training is coupled with experience, and a rigorous asessment process, the risk of misdiagnosis is probably very low. If a misdiagnosis were to occur it's far more likely for autism to be misdiagnosed as something else rather than for it to be diagnosed where it isn't present at all. The assessment process differs depending on where you are located in the UK, different local health authorities use different assessment criteria, some favouring DSM-5 while other use ICD-10. Some assessments take place over one long session, others over a number of session, perhaps spaced out over several months.

Thanks for your answers. It's put my mind at rest that I'm not likely to misdiagnosed with ASD.