In this episode of The Personality Couch, we (licensed clinical psychologists Doc Bok and Doc Fish) unpack the differences and similarities between schizoid personality disorder and autism spectrum disorder, and whether you can be diagnosed with both. We start by discussing the limitations of current research before investigating the underlying causes of social withdrawal seen in both conditions. We conclude by emphasizing that while they may share observable traits, their origins and implications are fundamentally different.

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Schizoid & Autism

00:58 Problems with ASD & SzPD research

04:42 Autistic Thinking Defined

05:26 Autistic Fantasy Defined

05:54 Autism Name Origins 

06:25 Autistic Contiguous Position Defined

08:22 Similarities b/w Autism & Schizoid

10:54 Genetics & Etiological Differences

         11:40 Schizophrenia’s Genetics

         12:37 Autism Genetics

14:50 Can Schizoid and Autism Co-Occur?

17:58 Development of ASD vs SzPD

          18:46 Imagination in Schizoid vs ASD 

19:08 Late Diagnosing of ASD + Cultural Trends

21:24 Viewer Question: Phantasy of the Schizoid

25:18 Mirror Neurons in ASD vs SzPD

28:05 Our Thoughts About Dual ASD & SzPD Diagnoses

36:05 Summary & Conclusion