I have obsession about the fear that I have not a pervasive developmental disorder or autism despite being diagnosed with Asperger syndrome when I was about 17 years old. PDD diagnosis benefitted me a lot! Especially in the area of financial benefits. I have social pension, care allowance, pretty serious ruling of disability, almost five years of free public transport in my nearby urban agglomeration. I do not have a job, I live in medium-sized village with no elementary school or church in it. I am blatantly mentally disordered, profoundly "weird" and obviously disabled due to a PDD and other mental health problems.
But I think that many ASD cases are not etiologically related to "CLASSIC" autism (Kanner's syndrome). People with PDD (especially Asperger's syndrome from ICD-10 or DSM-IV) or ASD diagnosis who have high IQ and no functional language impairment, but who are pretty disabled, handicapped in (especially adult) life and generally "odd" even in comparison to many "normal" ASDers with comparable IQs and levels of functional language IMO have an additional schizophrenia spectrum disorder (probably mostly schizotypal or schizoid) in addition to being autistic and being both autistic and having "schizo" makes them so severely impaired. I have diagnoses of schizotypal disorder and OCD in addition to PDD since 2015, since before I first applied for ruling of disability and social pension. I think that people like me have specific developmental health condition which can be named "schizoautism" which is different from classic ASD, from ADHD or NVLD, but can be comorbid with them. Not all individuals with PDD and (or) ASD who have normal or high IQ and no to only slight functional language impairment are on schizophrenia spectrum, those who are not rather would be better functioning in areas like earning money and relationships. I think that schizoautism is clearly worse than "normal" ASD in people with comparable IQs and functional language levels. Schizoautism is a childhood-onset severe mental illness, which must not be considered as mere difference or mere specific coginitive style. "Asperger's" mentioned in
this article, which is on par with total lack of eyesight or having both legs removed in terms of severity of the disability caused by the condition, is IMO schizoautism and not "standard" ASD without intellectual impairment and with mild to no functional language impairment.
The literal only reason I didn't get an AS diagnosis when I was evaluated under the DSM IV was that I had already received most of the schizo diagnoses and there wasn't any awareness that the criteria changes would be so severe as to make it virtually impossible to get a proper diagnosis later. With a diagnosis I wouldn't have gotten much, but I would have had to get the schizo diagnoses ruled out, then have another neuropsych work up and the tools for assessing adults didn't even exist. Most of the stuff was clearly intended for children or those with significant ID.
17 Apr 2024, 9:01 pm
