Loonier Still

As I've reported in this space, I have applied for disability, both with state and federal agencies. I recently won one case on the state level (it means I qualify for Medicaid) after being seen by a psychologist at the behest of the state. I requested my file and received portions of it yesterday.

While we each have certain images about ourselves -- some that agree with the opinions of others and some that do not -- it's a rather interesting experience reading what several professionals think about you! It's even more interesting when the deciding diagnosis is NOT something you listed as the cause of your disability.

I expected that the rationale regarding the approval of my claim would center around my physical disabilities (fibromyalgia and Klinefelter's Syndrome) in combination with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). However, this turns out not to be the case at all! My physical issues basically were ignored and the psychological diagnosis was not AS; it is Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD).

I don't know about you, but, any diagnosis with the label "schizo" at the front, is rather alarming. Most people, me included, generally associate schizo with schizophrenia. It turns out though that, while SPD is in the same family as schizophrenia, it's definately not the same thing. Whew! That had me really worried.

In fact, after doing some web research tonight, I found that SPD and AS are very closely related and many of the symptoms overlap. In Europe, many mental health professionals believe these two conditions describe the same general malady; in the US, each is treated as distinct.

Here are the general symptoms of AS and SPD from the Mayo Clinic. I've placed a red X next to the symptoms that I seem to have.

Asperger's Syndrome

• Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is listening or trying to change the subject X
  
• Displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures X
  
• Showing an intense obsession with one or two specific, narrow subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes X
  
• Appearing not to understand, empathize with or be sensitive to others' feelings X
  
• Having a hard time "reading" other people or understanding humor X
  
• Speaking in a voice that is monotonous, rigid or unusually fast
• Moving clumsily, with poor coordination X
  
• Having an odd posture or a rigid gait X
  

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

• Incorrect interpretation of events, including feeling that external events have personal meaning
• Peculiar thinking, beliefs or behavior X
  
• Belief in special powers, such as telepathy
• Perceptual alterations, in some cases bodily illusions, including phantom pains or other distortions in the sense of touch X
  
• Idiosyncratic speech, such as loose or vague patterns of speaking or tendency to go off on tangents X
  
• Suspicious or paranoid ideas
• Flat emotions or inappropriate emotional responses
• Lack of close friends outside of the immediate family X
  
• Persistent and excessive social anxiety that doesn't abate with time X
  

So, looking at the scorecard, my score with AS is 7/8 and for SPD it's 5/9. To my untrained eye, AS seems more on target with some overlap with SPD.

But what do I know? I'm loony. :-)