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