AS scores for this test? (Personality Disorders)

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What I find a bit odd is the number of diagnosed Asperigans who have significantly high scores for schizoid PD. This might seem like it makes sense at first, but schizoid PD is a differential diagnosis for Asperger's, i.e. if you have SPD, then you don't have AS. In fact, when I got my Dx, my doctor was very careful to exclude SPD as a possibility.

The significant difference between the two is that people with schizoid PD have no close relationships to people and they do not desire any, whereas people with Asperger's syndrome desire close relationships, but don't understand the social process of developing them.

So, either the test is flawed (quite likely, as it's not an offcial medical diagnostic), or at least a few members here are misdiagnosed.

I was provisionally diagnosed with schizoid pd when I was 17 back in 1974 before Asperger's was on anyone's radar. That's all that was available. I'm not sure I agree that all people with AS desire relationships but don't know how to go about it. When you're dealing with someone who has had years of failures, they tend to give up and accept themselves the way they are. I don't know how to go about it, and I find it exhausting. So schizoid pd may look like me from the outside but not take into consideration what it took to get me to this place. I don't dislike people and I don't think I don't need interaction. I've just scaled it back to what's doable for me.

Paranoid |||||| 30% 49%
Schizoid |||||||||||||||| 70% 53%
Schizotypal |||||||||||||| 54% 53%
Antisocial |||||||||| 38% 47%
Borderline |||||| 30% 47%
Histrionic |||||||||| 34% 43%
Narcissistic |||||||||||| 46% 41%
Avoidant |||||| 30% 39%
Dependent |||||||||| 38% 37%
Obsessive-Compulsive |||||||||||||| 54% 40%

Paranoid |||||| 26% 49%
Schizoid |||||||||||||||| 62% 53%
Schizotypal |||||||||||||||| 70% 53%
Antisocial |||||||||| 38% 47%
Borderline |||||| 30% 47%
Histrionic |||||||||||| 42% 43%
Narcissistic |||||||||||||| 58% 41%
Avoidant |||||||||| 38% 39%
Dependent |||||||||||| 46% 37%
Obsessive-Compulsive |||||||||| 38% 40%

Paranoid |||||||||||||| 58% 49%
Schizoid |||||||||||||||||||| 86% 53%
Schizotypal |||||||||||||||||| 78% 53%
Antisocial |||||||||| 38% 47%
Borderline |||||||||||| 42% 47%
Histrionic |||||||||| 38% 43%
Narcissistic |||||||||||| 42% 41%
Avoidant |||||||||||| 42% 39%
Dependent |||| 18% 37%
Obsessive-Compulsive |||||||||||||||| 70% 40%

Well, AS is largely "social isolation + repetitive /restricted behavior and interests", than, in some way, can be considered a kind of combination of SPD and OCPD

Schizoid is the closest thing on this list to AS

According to the DSM chapter about SPD, the difference is that people with AS have stereotyped behaviour and their social deficits are more severe than than people with SPD; in the chapter about AS, they only say that the difference is not clear and that SPD appears to have an higher age of onset

if you go only for the short form of diagnostic criteria for AS



According to these criteria, a person that do not desires close relationships (independently of understanding or not the social process of developing them) could matcs the points I-B. I-C and I-D (if he has flat affect also could moderately match I-A), enough for a diagnosis (if he also has RRBI).

I also remember that the philosophy of DSM-III and IV (and probably also of V) is that disorders should be diagnosed according to their observable symptoms, not according to theories about the cause of the symptoms, then differentiating between SPD and AS by "understands/ does not understand how to establish social relationships" will probably be against this philosophy.

I suspect that some professionals use the rule "understands/ does not understand how to establish social relationships" as a criteria to choose between diagnostics (and makes some sense - a person that does not understand this will need a very different help that someone who understands but does not have the motivation), but this is not the "official" differential diagnostic criteria.

It is possible for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder & Obsessive Compulsive Personality to coexist with Schizoid. I was diagnosed with those 3 things. Having those obsessive disorders would involve stereotyped behavior. As I said before; I think one of the main factors in the diagnoses of Schizoid instead of AS could be the person's age. If the person gets tested at an older age; it's possible they may show less AS characteristics than they would of as a kid because they might of adapted to it & matured/grown some. Also the theories about the contributing factors/possible causes of SPD involve a history of bad experiences; like being overly sensitive as a kid & having others react negatively to it; coming from a dysfunctional family; having bad experiences with relationships & people; or having anxiety issues that are less near the surface/covered up/masked some; kinda similar to Avoidant Personality except they sort of accepted that they cant get relationships or that they're better off with out em instead of wishing they could have em. All those things could sometimes be caused by Aspergers problems; they could all apply to me.

Meeting most all the DSM & other characteristic for AS does NOT qualify for an AS diagnoses if you have high intelligence, can communicate OK verbally & have an atypical learning style. I was told by docs/psychs & others that because my intelligence never seemed low enough to warrant an IQ test in my life, I communicated too well verbally & that my learning profile did not fit the typical AS pattern; I did not have anything on the autism spectrum including AS.

DSM V no longer list Schizoid & instead some of the symptoms can be diagnosed. I would think/hope that there would be less confusion & that Aspies who show Schizoid characteristics would be easier to diagnose as Aspies.

Last edited by nick007 on 26 Mar 2011, 11:55 am, edited 2 times in total.

Personality Disorder Test Results

Paranoid |||| 18% 49%
Schizoid |||||||||||||||||||| 86% 53%
Schizotypal |||||||||||||| 58% 53%
Antisocial |||||| 26% 47%
Borderline |||||| 22% 47%
Histrionic |||||| 22% 43%
Narcissistic || 10% 41%
Avoidant |||||||||||| 46% 39%
Dependent |||||||||||| 46% 37%
Obsessive-Compulsive |||||||||||||||||| 74% 40%
*scores in gray are the average web score

Well, there is a difference between stereotyped behavior in AS and in OCPD (obsessions are a source of pleasure for Aspies but a source of distress for OCPDers), but this difference probably could not be visible at the first look.



Nick, your doctors have experience in AS/ASD or are general practitioners? Because this goes against everything that I have heard about autism/AS (aspies can have high intelligence and specially high verbal abilities).

I know but I was told that when I was officially tested. I also heard similar by a counselor who has supposedly worked with a few AS patients before. A program that provides services for autism & other developmental disorders. As well as a psych I saw a couple years ago because Social Security Disability sent me to him for an evaluation & he works with kids who have different developmental disorders & he's written a few articles on em.
The only two professionals I've seen in my life who thought differently were not experts. A psych I saw when I was in high-school to get re-certified for accommodation due to my dyslexia said it was possible I may have Aspergers. & the psychiatrist I saw after I had my mental breakdown referred me for AS testing. Neither were qualified to make an official diagnoses

Ah, yes... I looked at the diagnostic criteria for SPD as well, and the major difference is actually in criteria II, not I., so that AS could almost be observed as SPD plus routines and hyperfocused interests. I think then that it might be more accurate to say that the interest or lack of interest in forming relationships is a subjective preference in Aspergians.

As Aimless pointed out, some of us may merely lose interest in relationships over time. My psych doc may very well have only been trying to establish which was true for me: lack of interest or lack of understanding rather than trying to split diagnostic hairs.

Paranoid |||||| 26%
Schizoid |||||| 26%
Schizotypal |||||||||||||||||||| 86%
Antisocial |||||||||| 34%
Borderline |||||||||||| 50%
Histrionic |||||||||||| 50%
Narcissistic |||||||||| 38%
Avoidant |||| 14%
Dependent |||||||||||||| 54%
Obsessive-Compulsive |||||| 26%

I still dont really understand about my score, it seems different to others on the board. Perhaps I am just schizotypal. Am I just weird?

Exactly. I spent most of my life expending an enormous amount of energy trying to be normal and have normal friendships. Then when my longest-term best friend dumped me, I'd had it. That was it. I gave up. The effort is not worth the return that I get from it.

Paranoid |||||||||||||||||| 74%
Schizoid |||||||||||||||||||| 90%
Schizotypal |||||||||||||||| 62%
Antisocial |||||| 22%
Borderline |||||||||||||||| 62%
Histrionic |||| 18%
Narcissistic |||| 18%
Avoidant |||||||||||| 50%
Dependent |||||||||||||||||||| 82%
Obsessive-Compulsive |||||||||||||| 58%