Schizophrenia is autism?

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In relation to Asperger’s Syndrome and Schizophrenia. I believe the only difference in the symptoms between autism and schizophrenia is the existence of a routine or repetitive action.

Suppose your routine is disturbed or made non-existent, throw a tantrum, and lose motivation. Shortly after you decide on a new routine and everything is fine.
Can this be equated to schizophrenia? I ask because in the reading material that was supplied to me by the community mental health center, states that this is what a psychotic episode is...
You are probably wondering why I am asking this or even mentioning it:
I was actually diagnosed with depression at first. I get easily upset when something changes in my life. I was told that I was in psychosis because I was depressed, and more so, because I said I am not taking medication and then it changed to schizophrenia... o_O? I am no longer depressed though...

To be honest, I only briefly glanced at the signs on the website when I first created this topic.

I actually have these from the list:
--Overly acute senses- lights are too bright, sounds are too loud.
--Staring, while in deep thought, with infrequent blinking.
--Parkinsonian type symptoms- rigidity, tremor, jerking arm movements, or involuntary movements of the limbs
--Unusual gestures or postures
--Movement is speeded up- i.e. constant pacing
--Feeling indifferent to important events
--Inability to form or keep relationships
--Social isolation- few close friends if any. Little interaction outside of immediate family.
--Increased withdrawal, spending most of the days alone.
--Becoming lost in thoughts and not wanting to be disturbed with human contact
--Neglect in self-care- i.e. hygiene, clothing, or appearance
--Replaying or rehearsing conversations out loud- i.e. talking to yourself (very common sign)
--Functional impairment in interpersonal relationships, work, education, or self-care
--Ruminating thoughts- these are the same thoughts that go around and round your head but get you nowhere. Often about past disappointments, missed opportunities, failed relationships.
--Racing thoughts
--Trouble with social cues- i.e. not being able to interpret body language, eye contact, voice tone, and gestures appropriately.
--Often not responding appropriately and thus coming off as cold, distant, or detached.
--Difficulty expressing thoughts verbally. Or not having much to say about anything.
--Speaking in an abstract or tangential way. Odd use of words or language structure
--Difficulty understanding simple things
--Thoughts, behavior, and actions are not integrated
--Obsessive compulsive tendencies- with thoughts or actions

Then I look at the Asperger’s symptoms list and I have "ALL" of them.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/asperger ... 20Symptoms
Then I look at Autism by itself and I have "ALL" of those too; in fact autism actually fits my symptoms better.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/autism/p ... 20Symptoms

So, since I have a majority of the schizophrenia symptoms, I might also have schizophrenia? ^_^!
By the way, the diagnosis was "mild schizophrenia". Whatever that is... Maybe it means just that, “only a subset of the symptoms?”

In addition, what is term used when you give up on socialising because of autistic symptoms? Can that still be equated to a lack of motivation? I am asking because I have not decided whether the whole social groups concept is actually going to help me; and yes I had been invited to one. I like to know exactly what I will gain from doing a certain activity, otherwise I just will not try it. < I'm not sure if this is schizophrenia.

Furthermore, does schizophrenia have symptoms of attachment to objects, tantrums and more? I was reading an article and repetitive action is exhibited in schizophrenics too. x_X! Confusing!! !
This could be the result of misdiagnosis and also because different psychiatrists have differing opinions on what it actually is. For clarification, see the second and third paragraphs.

I am beginning to think the two “disorders” *cough* are actually the same thing on a spectrum, because all mental illnesses seem to be linked continuously and where exactly one “classification” ends and another one starts is unknown. I believe that having discrete boundaries for an impairment is ludicrous because it is subjective. No wonder they are contemplating the removal of Asperger’s Syndrome.

On Another Point.
I think I will go back and ask the psychiatrists more thoroughly about the diagnosis.

@JayCat: Not quite, one difference between schizophrenia and ASD is the age of onset. Schizophrenia emerges later in life. There are cases of childhood schizophrenia, but symptoms usually emerge after years of normal development. With ASD, there is usually some sort of oddity in development which is noticeable in toddlerhood.

There have been research discussing the links between ASD and schizophrenia spectrum issues, because of some of the similarities in symptoms. They are still discrete symptoms, though. I don't know if your clinicians thought you were presenting with a thought disorder, hence giving you the schizophrenia dx.

from age 30-44 my doctor diagnosed me as schizo, had me on zyprexa and clonazepam.

recently work sent me to a doctor due to performance issues.

the new doctor diagnosed me as AS with anxiety issues. he said the anti-psychotic zyprexa was the reason for my work performance failing. i could not concentrate while on it.

so yes, ppl are misdiagnosed frequently by incompetent doctors.

@Roman not caring is an attitude too. If we end up thinking that every aspect of our personality must be diagnosable, then that's why we end up with misdiagnoses. Out of curiosity, how does the world of psychiatry/mental illness compare to the empirical world of physics? Does it feel like it's a different world altogether?

@SmallFruitSong how does "Schizoaffective became asymptomatic" and yet still have that diagnosis? If a diagnosis is without symptoms then surely it becomes void?

As most of the others have already posted, No, autism and schizophrenia are not the same thing and are usually not linked. As with other disorders, there may be symptom overlap.

It is easy to understand this confusion, because the same thing has happened to me. Most of my Asperger's traits have been mistaken to be caused by schizophrenia, though I, like you, have had these traits my whole life. Also, they've just recently labelled my son as Asperger's, which makes things interesting.

You don't necessarily need hallucinations and/or delusions [aka positive symptoms] to get a schizophrenia dx. You can get a schizophrenia dx if you display disorganised thoughts and behaviours and if you present with primarily negative symptoms. In the DSM there's five categories of schizophrenia and only paranoid schizophrenia [IIRC] is seen to have floridly positive symptoms.

A doctor also once said I had paranoid schizophrenia. I don't know what he based it on exactly. I might not know if I was delusional but I've never had paranoid thoughts - that people were plotting against me or anything like that.

I have been given both diagnoses- Schizotypal & Asperger Syndrome. So they can apparently overlap, somewhat, even if they are totally different diagnoses....

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An Asperger's man who has Autism Spectrum Disorder level 1- mild, with a sprinkling of Synesthesia.