Can you name this condition? (genetic risk for autism)

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There is a pretty high genetic chance this could have been autism (person now passed away), but I wanted to see if it fits other conditions:

(I've put it into a quote format for formatting reasons)

It sounds more like schizophrenia because of the paranoia, but the conditions are often co-morbid. There are clinical and biological links between autism and schizophrenia

My dad was very "aspie". He was an engineer, tool and die maker, to be specific, though he only had a high school education. When he wasn't working, he was always busy fixing things or building things or gardening. you would never see him sitting in front of the TV drinking beer, like other kid's fathers. He had a reputation for being very smart and a "jack of all trades". People in the neighborhood would always come to him when they needed something fixed. Some people thought he was a genius. He new a lot of things too and was very logical. I loved having conversations with him. He was emotionally immature though, and he didn't know how to treat women, he could be very inappropriate. That may be in part due to his relationship with his mother. He thought his mother didn't love him. She was emotionally distant and very stoic. Maybe she had alexithmia.

It wasn't schizophrenia, he didn't have any delusions. He also held down a job as a nurse for many years which I highly doubt he would have been able to do if he was schizophrenic. Also, having a schizophrenic sister I can see he wasn't like her.

What makes me think it was autism is:

food sensory issues
rages (meltdowns)
dislike of loud noise
routines
difficulties in relationships
stomach problems (high rate of those in autism)
social faux pas

What makes me wonder it could be another condition or something co-morbid with autism is:

manipulation (although this was by no means sophisticated)
very dishonest (I know being an Aspie doesn't mean never lying and it could also be down to a lack of empathy)
a bit paranoid (having said this, me and my daughters are all on the spectrum and we all are bothered by other people looking or thinking ill of us)

Many autistics are a bit paranoid, especially when they don't get the right diagnosis and treatment. Christopher Gillberg writes about it, that the most common missdiagnoses of AS are schizoid PD, schizotypal PD, borderline PD and paranoid PD.

I've myself a higher paranoia level than normal people, but still not in the diagnostic range.

Also schizotypal PD and ASD are overlapping in some cases and schizotypal PD is highly related to schizophrenia and also has very often paranoid thinking patterns.

Thanks Raziel. Useful info.

OK, this is a complicated picture. I'm guessing he has more than one condition.

Thanks for your helpful post Ettina.

RE the stomach issues, I knew it is nothing to do with diagnostic criteria for ASDs or psychiatry, but it's proven by research that people with autism spectrum disorders have a significantly higher rate of gastro-intestinal disorders than the general population.

I don't see it that complex as Ettina, I see it more as ASD with antisocial behaviour, because everything else can be explained pretty much through ASD. People with ASD also have routines, sometimes even many routines and certain problems regulating emotions and behaviour. The breakdown could be because of the stress having ASD.

It could possibly be Schizotypal personality. Paranoia & secretiveness are quite common with it. Other things like his chair, disliking vegetables & shouing away kids could be due to some kind of paranoia odd belief which could be Schizotypal.

Thanks, I wonder if schizotypal is genetically related to autism...I'm going to read up on schizotypal and see if it seems like that.

That's fantastic, thanks Raziel!

OK, I really don't think he was schizotypal. It says about that disorder:

social anxiety (related to paranoid fears of mistreatment)
odd speech that is vague, circumstantial, and metaphorical
1. Suspiciousness or paranoid ideation
2. Ideas of reference (excluding delusions of reference)
3. Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behavior and is inconsistent with subcultural norms (e.g., superstitiousness, belief in clairvoyance, telepathy, or “sixth sense”; in children and adolescents, bizarre fantasies or preoccupations)
4. Unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions

...all of this sounds nothing like him (nor anything like Asperger's!) And I find it odd that they are saying believing in clairvoyance etc. means someone is schizotypal, there is a whole industry in that sort of thing with a lot of followers - indeed I am very open-minded to all that stuff myself and I am not schizotypal.

I will look up BPD, but I am veering towards thinking it's most likely he was on the spectrum.

<sarcasm>Me? Paranoid?</sarcasm>

You have your arse beat up by a girl gang and see how you feel!
You have a girl get down your pants when you're terrified and see how you like it!

Hmm.. hard to figure out