As you see in the title, my psychiatrist that I saw a few years ago, seemed to think I needed to be assessed for autism instead of sz, but I don’t see a lot of info on this. but I know that a lot of people with autism have sz.
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I don’t know how if this is certain, but the psychiatry community in england used to think that both didn’t overlap. A psychiatrist said to me, he doens’t think i have autism years ago - but that it was sz all along. This was in an appeal or hearing where I wanted to get out of section. the other psychiatrists who were much younger though seemed to not buy into that logic
I think you’re right though, the evidence is growing by the day that the two maybe related
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The last psychiatrist (he left and came back…) I saw was greek I believe, not from here. but he’s been the best doc ive seen. he’s the one who suggested the assessment for autism. but I wish all these docs wouldn’t keep leaving.
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For real?! The psychiatrists in my clinic or mh centre also keep leaving. Literally every few appointments they change over - I’ve finally got one who’s been here for a year and counting
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I wouldn’t like the UK mental health system where you can’t choose your own pdoc (unless you spend a fortune).
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the entire nhs is a really messy ordeal 
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Maybe they’ll get better funding after the election.
That might help.
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We can only hope
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I have a dual diagnosis of autism and sz, don’t know much off the top of my head but I read about it plus experience it, don’t know if I can apply the theory to the practical
It’s better than the Canadian system where you can’t even get one now, or if you do, you don’t ever see them if you’re not constantly in crisis because those are the only patients they have time for.
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I haven’t seen a pdoc in over 3 years… it’s not that much different I don’t think… at least for me.
My daughter firmly believes the schizoaffective/schizophrenia is secondary to the ASD. That the stress of undiagnosed and unsupported ASD led to the SMI developing. I would tend to agree with that.
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From what I have gathered from research, ASD doesn’t cause full blown delusions but can seem delusional because of thinking process is different. An example I read was a kid watching a horror movie and thinking it could be real and seeming delusional and paranoid about that. I hope that makes sense. It has more to do with literal thinking
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Wow my grandmother had that, she didn’t understand the concept of acting so when she watched movies, she really took them literally.
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I think mine is secondary too…,… but I guess there’s not much research into this yet…
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I very rarely see a pdoc now. Re the sz-a/sz- I’m seen as being mostly in remission with some mild breakthrough psychosis. That doesn’t mean I’m 100% fine. There’s the severe social anxiety, and bullying related trauma. However in comparative terms I haven’t been this good mentally for a long,long, time.
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When I was hospitalized, the paperwork said Asperger’s Syndrome, but the next time I went it said undifferentiated or paranoid schizophrenia. I got it from substance induced psychosis.
They later said I don’t have Asperger’s Syndrome, but it made a lot of sense to me!
I went undiagnosed for 22 years, I guess.
I was told since I had friends or could socialize and interact with people and don’t look autistic, I don’t have it.
I had matrix delusions and what I believed to have been anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. The panic attacks where I felt like I was losing grip on reality and losing my mind like going insane from anxiety and panic attacks.
I heard little whispers sometimes while off medication. I also had hallucinations while sleeping like hearing classical music and paranoia sometimes.
I had memory loss or memory problems early on and couldn’t store or retain information, keep up with school, and switching attention and loss of motivation.
Got really philosophical for the longest time.
I don’t hallucinate or hear voices really, but I would say I have a thought disorder. My thoughts cause the delusions and altered perception or illusions of reality, I believe. My thoughts are the problem. My thoughts were distressing and stuff and caused distortions in thinking.
While dreaming or having ‘nightmares’ I’ve seen celebrities and even talked to them in my astral body in the astral plane, which I thought were past life memories, aliens, or mind control/parallel universes, but it’s just dopamine, schizophrenia, or psychosis or w/e. They said it’s my imagination and fantasy.
I talked to one doctor who said it’s possible to have both but unlikely. Like 5 percent co-morbidity or something.
I would say 9/10 doctors say I have schizoaffective disorder and not ASD or Asperger’s anymore, although I got ‘tested’ and got a note on my discharge paperwork back in 2011/2012/2013 or something.
I have delusions and paranoia and negatives and cognitive decline and depression, anxiety, OCD, and that sort of stuff.
I did some of my own online research and believe Asperger’s is the next step in evolution; it’s an extreme male brain; I was proud of it; and I was different, and smarter in many ways; and that I even had a delusion that Asperger’s syndrome protected me from full blown psychosis or schizophrenia because although they share traits or symptoms, I think they are polar opposites IMO. Like I didn’t hallucinate until a couple years ago in my sleep.
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I’ve shared this website a few times here:
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the psychologist who said i have autism with schizophrenia said the autism contributes to the paranoia cause i dont understand peoples motives. so thats something how autism can make u paranoid
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Cooijmans should stick to what he’s quite good at, which is creating high range IQ tests. He’s not that good when he pontificates, in a rather negative and reactionary way, about Asperger’s and mental illness.
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