I’d like to find out more about having aspergers and paranoid schizophrenia concurrently. My best friend has them, he’s been in crisis for over a week, and it almost seems like he stopped taking meds.
I have sza, so I understand the difference between being sz and sza.
i do know that for a long time Autism and sz were seen as pretty much the same. It was only recently that they were split out from each other.
Apparently it’s hard to get an autism diagnosis after sz, as the negatives etc mirror ASD
I used to work at a school for kids who had both. Not a fun combination, but there’s a broad spectrum of functioning in both disorders. @shutterbug has both
I’ve never heard that they used to be considered the same, or that it’s hard to get both diagnoses. The negatives of schizophrenia have very minimal overlap with autism. They are very different disorders.
If you have a search on google if you’re interested to know more. I have read it in a few places.
He was diagnosed with aspergers syndrome as a young child. I think he was late teens to early 20s for the sz diagnosis.
I guess I’m stumped. He hasn’t been this paranoid and delusional in years. He says people glare at him and won’t leave him alone. He says that the argument he got into caused him to be physically sick.
Any ideas?
I am ABA certified and spent eight years in direct care and another two in administrative work. I worked at the premiere school in the world for kids diagnosed with both.
This was historical, not anything recent.
Thanks, ninja. I couldn’t remember who had both dx. What about @firemonkey?
Sounds like he has had a tougher time than most. I don’t know what to suggest, but I hope he gets better soon 
The most you can do as his friend is listen and be supportive, and try to encourage him to get professional help. Having both together is very tricky. A lot of the same medications are used for both disorders, but they’re just about managing behaviors. Therapy also helps a lot with that.
Hes missing doctor’s appointments… he says he doesn’t remember making them. Then looks in his wallet and sees the appointment cards. Hes in his early 50s.
He plays a small piano concert, monthly, but says he wasn’t prepared. That’s not like him.
He thinks his neighbors are against him.
If this isn’t an appropriate thread, feel free to shut it down.
It’s fine to post about here, but you might also want to post on the family forum, because they have more experience reaching out to a loved one who is struggling. We just know what it’s like to be the loved one.
Gotcha. Thanks, I’m googling to understand more.
There is a lot of stuff on the two conditions being co-morbid, and research done on the links between them.
It might be good to see where they overlap, as I cannot imagine how bad it must be having two things creating and making things worse in the same areas.
I have a cousin who is diagnosed with autism.
I wish I could be of more help. I’m so sorry you’re seeing someone you care about struggle like this.
I hope your friend feels better soon.
I found a really good video on YouTube. I’d like to mention that I’ve known him from 10to15 years, hes my best friend, and the concerns I’m having are about CHANGES in his current behavior.
This article is from 2011 so not super recent (also it’s focused on adolescent psychiatry)
Thanks, Monte. I’m not upset, really… I just want to help him. It’s almost like I cant.
Thanks, Moonie!
Has anything happened recently that could have triggered this off, or has it come out of the blue?