I find it interesting that so many people have mentioned experience of someone with AS, but nobody has mentioned knowing someone with schizophrenia. The rate of sz is about 1.1% of the adult population, whereas although it is difficult to get firm rates for AS, the highest estimate I have seen mentioned is 92/10,000 (just over 0.9%) for all autistic disorders, inclusing AS and classic autism. I wonder if this is because there is greater stigma associated with sz and the sufferers become more socially isolated?

Also, historically there has been an association between AS and sz, there there is a lot of debate over the relationship if there is any. Early opinion was that AS was a juvenile onset of sz, others have said the rates of sz among AS sufferers high, others that there can be misdiagnosis. I think the current opinion is that AS is sometimes accompanied by psychotic type symptoms especially in adolescence, but true full blown schizophrenia is not associated.

Bagpuss