Is Asperger's Syndrome worse than Schizophrenia

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Don't get the point of threads like these. All you're doing is belittling those with the other condition, which you may not have experience of. Aspergers is different for everyone; as is Schizophrenia.

*Sigh* No. It isn't

They haven't done studies regarding ASDs and suicide rates (well, last I looked). Only anecdotal evidence so far (which does point to a high rate), though they've issued warnings regarding such. Those with Schizophrenia usually attempt such during the onset of active psychoses rather than later on during the chronic stage (if it progresses to such). Suicide rate doesn't really speak of much though. I bet if there was adult onset autism, the rate of suicide from such would be very high too (imagine taking away the social and emotional connections the normal person has; it'd be like the sudden onset of solitary confinement for life).

The accumulation of support due to the later onset of Schizophrenia can't be overlooked. Once treatment has been initiated to help the acute stage (which seems to work very well), they can fall back on this if they progress to the chronic state, whereas those with AS, the majority of (over 50%), don't ever gain the same level of support via earning it due to a high level of social adaptation prior to the onset of disease.

They're similarly disabling from all I've read, witnessed and experienced. Similarly disabling equating to the failure to achieve or lose the things your matched peers have.

Aspergers is less severe. AS is mild on the Autism Spectrum, Schizoprhenia is severe on the schizophrenic spectrum, stop comparing the wrong things.

AS is on the milder end of ASDs, yes, but that doesn't mean all that much with what you're comparing it to.

AS is more severe than the milder Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders -- Schizotypal and Schizoid PD.

The active phase in Schizophrenia tends to be more severe than AS (though not always; people who have a very obsessive interest can neglect hygiene and self-help, so it's more to do with each individual), but that can be treated well nowadays; what you have left from that is chronic schizophrenia, which isn't worst than AS.

The majority of those with Schizophrenia actually have a decent outcome. The majority of those with AS don't. That's by outcome studies. That's pretty much the answer.

Schizophrenics frequently have social skills problems, executive dysfunction and literal thinking.

Absolutely not. I met people with actual schitzophrenia, and I can say that they were a lot worse than me.

i read a forum for bi polar people and someone wrote there, "i'm glad i have a milder problem - i have schizophrenia. so maybe schizophrenia isnt the wrost condition.
asperger syndrome isn't so bad. very sever, non verbal autism might be. but aspies can be independent, and most of us are. i am. i'd much rather be an aspie than schizophrenic and live in a mental institution. i've heard awful stories about abuse in those places, and anyway, you're not independent. you have no privacy, no independence and no freedom. they're like prisons. they're not nice places.
just the thought of not being able to tell reality from imagination scares me. it's like being stuck in a nightmare you cant get out of.
all in all, asperger syndrome is probably the mildest and painless condition as compared to schizophrenia, mania depression, and tourette syndrome.

I believe that in a day to day level schizophrenia is worse than AS (AS may be a normal way to function to some degree), although severe autism is very bad too, when I was institutionalized in a public hospital with about 30 people in a big room, the person with autism stood out all the way and got treated worse than an animal and got beaten up terribly.

In certain ways, AS is worse, especially in terms of how people view you,

When I was first institutionalized, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia (Any unrecognized mental illness goes here I guess), that went on for a while as I was diagnosed with a few different disorders. These were some things associated with that:
-I thought I could be cured or helped with the right medication
-No-one told me not to use schizophrenia as an excuse for my actions, people actually tried to help or understand me
-I had a lot of help from the medical society in terms of helping me
-New and better medication comes out every now and then
-It was a legal and well recognized disorder

AS on the other hand:
-You get sort of neglected by the medical community, my appointment after I was diagnosed by the doctor, she recommended that I should stop seeing her and go forward on my own
-No treatment or little hope for improvement in terms of medication, I am not even sure I want to get cured as it might destroy who I am
-I am responsible for everything I do, since a lot of people refuse to recognize there is something wrong with me, they believe that all my symptoms can be overcome by mind over matter (Sometimes I believe that and get depressed)
-No-one knows what AS is or care, I don't even mention that I have this, as they will not believe I have something related to autism

And in terms of how people view you, Bipolar Disorder deserves a special mention, out of the people I've met and so on, most people believe that BD is at least 90% fake.

Both are spectrums. Mild aspergers is probably "easier" to have that severe schizophrenia (severe autism is more difficult than mild schizophrenia), but people on the same level of the spectrum of their respective disorders probably have an equal amount of trouble.

I agree with littlelily613 that severity on either spectrum is probably the most important factor. I work at a long-term state psychiatric institution and we have many severely disabled, chronic schizophrenics, some affective and personality disorders but I only remember one autistic person. I'm wondering if familys take care of severely disabled autistics or if they go to other institutions.

Probably. Autistic people who need full-time care and have no families tend to go to group homes for developmentally disabled people, most of the time. Severe autism, if it doesn't come with other disabilities, usually doesn't require pervasive care, because the person can feed themselves, put on their own clothes when directed to do so, move around by themselves, etc. They might need a full-time aide, but they can get that in a group home; so they don't need to be in the quasi-hospital environment that people who require pervasive care or have severe mental illnesses would need. They aren't medically fragile; they don't need feeding tubes or need to move around by lift or wheelchair. And while they might need someone with them all the time, their abilities are relatively constant, so they don't have the risk of suddenly getting worse like somebody with schizophrenia might. I'm going to guess that the autistic people who need that kind of intensive monitoring you're talking about are probably either disabled in some other way as well, or else have unpredictable, dangerous meltdowns that neither they nor their staff can control.

Comparing AS with Schizotypal is hardly accurate: Aspergers is mild autism, Schizotypal is NOT mild schizophrenia. A better comparison would be Aspergers vs. Paranoid Schizophrenia.

Second, comparing outcome studies is hardly accurate as schizophrenia has been identified since the turn of the century while Autism wasn't identified until around 1940 and Aspergers wasn't recongnized as a disorder until around 1985. Since the ASDs have been being given to milder and milder people since then and adaptations have been improving over time the outcome studies can't really be regarded as comparable.

One person with schizophrenia having friends, does not mean its easy for people with that disorder to make and keep friends. Likewise just because one person with AS does not have friends does not mean it is impossible for others with it to have friends. I really don't hate all social interaction its just a matter of finding people who aren't super judgemental and shallow.


I don't think there really is a 'worst' disorder.

Lots of places say Schizotypal PD can be thought of as mild Schizophrenia, much in the same way that AS can be seen as mild Autism. One textbook I have puts the Schizophrenic Spectrum as: Schizoid, Schizotypal then Schizophrenia (in severity of symptoms). Several clinical sites state the same. The proposed DSM-V puts Schizotypal as a SSD.

There's that (AS being new so outcomes studies will be equally new), but I personally doubt it'll change all that much regarding outcome studies in the future (other than perhaps an increase in job placement); the proposed DSM-V seems to be moving away from milder forms of ASDs too.

However, HFA has been around for a long time as a diagnostic entity, and outcome studies regarding that have been around equally as long. That's Infantile Autism with an IQ over 75. The outcome of those are worst than those with Schizophrenia.

Aspies are able to be happy and not show it whereas schizophrenics' emotions are flattened and feel no happiness. Schizophrenics hear voices. Aspies are self-conscious contrary to schizophrenics. Untreated schizophrenia renders extreme paranoia, though it can be treated. I would rather live with treated schizophrenia than Asperger's. Untreated schizophrenia is still less worse than Asperger's because people will not take advantage of you or ridicule you at least because schizophrenic paranoia will keep you from acting stupid and just detach from the situation instead of worsen it like Aspies can do. Though untreated schizophrenics commit suicide.