Q. I'm a 28 year old university grad who has shown severe autistic symptoms since infancy but was not diagnosed until my early twenties as being a high functioning autistic due to high intelligence. a few years ago was also diagnosed with bipolar rapid cycling. I used to cut myself as a way of punishing myself when I did something inappropriate but have now switched to inflicting bruises which I hide from others. a lot of the BPD symptoms seem to sound a lot like my autistic ones. is another diagnosis warranted or are the two very similar. there are soft abuse issues, mostly emotional/verbal but no sexual abuse. how can I tell the difference between autism and borderline personality disorder?

A. It sounds from your description that alcohol plays a large part in exacerbating his symptoms. While "promising" to not drink is one approach, it rarely is effective in the long run. You may want to talk with him about seeking professional help for his drinking. In some cases, some mental illnesses can be managed very well as long as alcohol and drugs aren't being taken. You can start by calling your local alcohol and drug council for information and referrals for alcohol treatment/counseling. Most alcohol counseling is done on an outpatient basis and is flexible to meet the scheduling demands of work schedules and family schedules.