Avoidant Personality Disorder

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My new psychologist finds my suggestion of avoidant personality disorder more likely than my earlier suggestion of Aspergers. If true, that would be good because I was made into this and not created thus. So it looks like I have to circle back and put together the anecdotal evidence that suggests that I have Aspergers. Any suggestions on how to do this?

How old are you? I suggest you start listing your key symptoms if you want... right here.

reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoidant_p ... y_disorder It seems to me like an outcome of AS for some people. especially if you have gone decades without being diagnosed. Much like you will see that AS people develop a much higher rate of depression if not diagnosed or understood by people around them.

This has been suggested to me..though my my partner..not by any shrink...

While I have certain avoidant behaviors, I am pretty sure they were brought about by my Spectrum-related issues...

Perfect example of the problems with the current method of diagnosis. DSM IV-TR is only a collection of symptoms divided into taxonomies agreed upon by committee. And you know what that means.

Emil Kraepelin was using this method in the 1880's-90's to make sens of what was then one chaotic group of 'lunatics.' It seems we have not progressed.

Can be difficulty to differentiate Asperger's from:

Social phobia.
Schizoid personality type.
Schizotypal personality type.
Avoidant personality type.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

(And there are others, these off the top of my head.)

And clinicians have often little experience with Aspergers as it is relatively rare in the general and clinical population.

There needs to be a more precise differentiation founded upon functional neuroimaging. We have now the tools, but have grown enamoured of the customary.

Apology for the rant - Good Luck.

I got diagnosed with avoidant personality disorder before recieving my Aspergers diagnosis. I think this happened because my psychologist wasn't familiar with Aspergers, so she was just trying to treat me for seperate symptoms I had, instead of looking for the root of the problem.

When you have Aspergers, social interactions almost always to turn out badly, and eye contact is uncomfortable, so you tend to avoid people. Not having many friends is just part of that. For a psychologist who doesn't understand this reason, it might just look like you have an avoidant personality.

I ended up being prescribed Zoloft, but I told my doctor I didn't want to take it. Her reply was, "well, maybe you have Aspergers, and maybe you don't, but I don't have a pill for Aspergers, and I do have a pill for social anxiety." Horrible! After that, I searched out a doctor who was more familiar with Aspergers, and he gave me a real diagnosis.

"People with AvPD often consider themselves to be socially inept or personally unappealing, and avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, rejected or disliked."

Sure I probably have it....

But I don't avoid social interaction for "FEAR" of being ridiculed, humiliated, rejected or disliked.

I avoid social interaction because I "HAVE" been ridiculed, humiliated, rejected or disliked, and I'm clueless most of the time as to "why".

I'm just not on the same page 90% of the time, so to speak...with other people, so social interaction is a "chore" and not an "enjoyable" one like it may be for others.

i had this teenager, when people would want to hangout or whatever i would sabbatoge any chance of that happening. i was a freaking pro at it!

It's not like you can't have APD+AS, it's just that with that combination, you have to not just figure out how to socialize without fear, you have to do it while knowing that rejection by the world's jerks is nearly inevitable.

It seems it takes a very astute psychologist to realy DX any of us. If that is the case, if it takes a genius specialist to dx anyone, then how many of us really do not have AUT?

It would be nice if we could all be dxed by someone who knows all the nuances of the thing.

Makes ya wonder.

The classification of APD is so old that AS probably supercedes it.

I think I had it when I was younger, but I called it 'I don't give a f*** about other people' disorder.
Sometimes I do avoid situations, but other times I just throw myself into the middle of them.

Well, I am almost 30. I avoided any psychological treatment until last year. So far I've been dx'd with ADHD inattentive type and avoidant personality disorder. I've been on adderall and straterra, but I am now only taking zoloft. I think I'll continue to take it even if I don't need it because of one of its sexual side effects.

I unquestionably fulfill all criteria for APD. As far as Aspergers, this conclusion is primarily based on behaviors demonstrated by me, my mother, and my son. The normal deficits in non-verbal communications. The intense, narrow interests. Unusual sense experiences, e.g. synesthesia with music, heightened sensitivity to touch and light. Lack of empathy and reciprocity in social situations, though that is with very few exceptions.

but in order to do so you'd have to be having genuine social skills deficits, not just fear of social situations. People with the just personality disorder may have the social skills but avoid people for fear of not living up to their own and others' expectations. They fear rejection and find it in the smallest things. I personally have symptoms of both. The ASD plays into it because I know going into a social situation that I'm likely to screw up. I've ended up doing or saying the "wrong" thing so many times and have been rejected, so I've also developed characteristics of Avoidant Personality Disorder as well. Believe me, I've met people on the spectrum who were very friendly and social, just not appropriately social most of the time. But they weren't avoidant in the slightest.

One may be diagnosed with an ASD and anything else except schizophrenia by the current diagnostic criteria.