Obsessive–Compulsive Personality Disorder & Asperger's

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https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000942.htm

As somebody who needs to do certain things a certain way, I'd wondered whether I might have some mild form of OCD along with my Asperger's. After doing some research into the subject, I quickly realised that I don't have OCD at all (I don't get unwanted thoughts), and that's when I stumbled onto Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder.

Thing is, when I read the symptoms of OCPD, I realised that it wasn't just me who fit (some of) the criteria, but many of the members on my mum's side of the family, none of whom are Autistic. It seems to be the case that OCPD shares some similarities with Asperger's, and I seemed to get a dose of both. I have a half-sibling on my dad's side who I highly suspect is on the spectrum, so I believe I inherited my Autism from my dad's side of the family and if I have OCPD, I would have gotten it from my mum's side of the family. It strikes me as odd that I probably inherited two somewhat similar conditions from different sides of my family.

I think quite a few people on the spectrum can tick boxes for OCPD symptoms , I think they can appear very similar at first glance.

(1) is preoccupied with details, rules, lists, order, organization, or schedules to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost

(2) shows perfectionism that interferes with task completion (e.g., is unable to complete a project because his or her own overly strict standards are not met)

(3) is excessively devoted to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships (not accounted for by obvious economic necessity)

(4) is overconscientious, scrupulous, and inflexible about matters of morality, ethics, or values (not accounted for by cultural or religious identification)

(5) is unable to discard worn-out or worthless objects even when they have no sentimental value

(6) is reluctant to delegate tasks or to work with others unless they submit to exactly his or her way of doing things

(7) adopts a miserly spending style toward both self and others; money is viewed as something to be hoarded for future catastrophes

(8) shows rigidity and stubbornness

(1) Yep. I could never get myself to go to the gym because I couldn't figure out the "perfect" way to work out, the most optimal exercises to do, etc.
(2) I've spent upwards of two hours trying to get my beard line exactly perfect and even before. It used to generally take me over an hour. I've since adopted a better strategy and can get it done in 15 minutes now, thank god.
(3) I don't really work, so I'm not sure if that one fits me, but my mum told me that when she was working full-time it used to consume her. She would have dreams about things going wrong at work.
(4) I think I used to be this way, but not so much now.
(5) I used to be worried that anything I threw out might come in handy later (unless it was absolutely useless), but again, I've adapted thought processes to overcome that.
(6) I'm a bit like this too.
(7) Many of the males on my mum's side of the family are like this, and I'm somewhat like this too. The males in my family don't seem too good with expressing emotions and the like.

An example of OCPD in action I think is when my uncle's girlfriend was meant to get a box for him, and she got the medium-sized box when she could have gotten a small box. I'd imagine it wouldn't make a difference to most people, but my uncle was like "Why did you get the medium box when the small box would have done the job?" as if to say she should have gotten the small box and should have known better.

I wonder if this is what i had going on? I read this is often mistaken as OCD.

Like SaveFerris said, OCPD traits can overlap a lot with autistic traits, and as much as 40% of autistic people have a comorbid diagnosis of OCPD (at least from what I've read)! I myself have OCD (not OCPD) from my mom's side of my family, and autism from my dad's side. By the way- just to clarify- OCD isn't unwanted thoughts because many, many people get intrusive thoughts. The thing with OCD is that the part of the brain that is supposed to act as a "thought-sorter" is broken or damaged in some way, so the sufferer has no way to get rid of the intrusive/disturbing thoughts (except to engage in a compulsion, but that only stops them temporarily). I have symptoms of OCPD, but Asperger's just fits better. It is really up to you to determine if your symptoms warrant a comorbid diagnosis, or they are just part of the ASD. Hope this helps !

My dad had wondered a few times if he could have AS. I see OCPD traits in him as well. I heard he diagnosed himself with OCD some time ago, which I think could be about right. You can have both OCD and OCPD.

I can definitely see how AS/OCPD and certain types of OCD can get confused. With my dad, I see a clear difference, but I've lived with him for years.

I'd probably have chalked it all down to Asperger's in myself too if not for the fact that I see parallels between OCPD traits and behaviours from family members not on the Autism spectrum. That's the main thing that makes me think I might have inherited both. In any case though, I'm probably not going to worry about a diagnosis as I don't really see the point, and like you said, there's enough overlap between Asperger's and OCPD that it isn't worth dealing with them as separate things.

You are the person that knows you best, so if you think you have OCPD and you show enough symptoms at the right level, then I agree with you. A diagnosis takes a lot of time/work, and since the symptoms overlap so much, by working on one you could probably work on the other, if that is what you want. Otherwise, just live your life the way you want to.

When I was evaluated, I was uncertain if I would get diagnosed with Asperger's or some combination of Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder + Sensory Processing Disorder + Schizoid Personality Disorder + ...

Those weird combinations that doctors can come up with are sometimes pretty ridiculous . If there is one disorder that encompasses all or most of the patient's difficulties, then that is better than 10, in my opinion! I always thought of those weird possibilities before my diagnosis as well! Like it could be Asperger's, but it could also just be I'm a highly sensitive person with sensory processing disorder, OCPD, and Social Communication Disorder!

Hi by the way! I used to read your posts before I came here . I always enjoyed seeing what you had to say.

OCD is easy to confuse with ASD. I once wondered if I had OCD, but reading and observing suggested otherwise. The difference I noticed seemed to be about the level of anxiety associated with the compulsion. Me, I have funny little ways that I find hard to abandon, but if I have to, I can, they're not a matter of life and death to me. With OCD, I think the compulsions are rather more urgent. I had a few OCD things as a child, and still retain one or two of them, but luckily they're pretty easy to hide, and they don't do me any harm. But mostly I think in terms of individual traits rather than overarching labels, because the traits can be more objectively identified, while the psych labels are easy to get wrong and mislead everybody, and I don't think many people fit them perfectly.

Now I am curious. I haven't been posting much this year. Are you referring to my earlier postings?

That's exactly where my head is at the moment but I have more +'s

Yes, like the really old ones .

I wouldn't think much of it until you seek someone qualified.

Ahhh. Those were my favorites. You know, when I wasn't working so much, I would include all of my WP posts in my journal. It (my journal) is something I treasure. The journey of learning about Asperger's (rather obsessively, I must add), going through an evaluation, being diagnosed, doubting the diagnosis, going back into therapy to discuss the diagnosis process (along with other stuff) and finally participating in several research experiments was definitely the most important experience of my lifetime.