Asperger's Disorder: a case report of repeated stealing and the collecting behaviours of an adolescent patient

P.S. Chen, S.J. Chen, Y.K. Yang, T.L. Yeh, C.C. Chen and H.Y. Lo, Acta Psychitatrica Scandinavica, 2003; 107; 73 - 76.

The case and treatment of a 21-year-old male patient is described. A 21-year-old male developed obstinate stealing behaviours when he was 17 years old. He was regarded as a schizophrenic at first, and was suspected of kleptomania later. Asperger's Disorder was diagnosed after we reconsidered the relationship between the schizoid psychopathy in childhood and the stealing behaviours, which occurred in adolescence. A wide variety of bizarre behaviours and so-called borderline behaviours occur in late adolescence and adult life of patients with Asperger's Disorder. But classic schizophrenia is very rare. Psychiatrists unacquainted with the clinical diagnosis/context may find it difficult to evaluate 'concrete', 'childish', or 'bizarre' symptoms in patients with Asperger's Disorder, and thus are prone to misdiagnosing them as having schizophrenia disorders or other similar disorders. He repeatedly committed theft after he learned how to teal from his elder classmates when he was 17 years old. He even collected objects such as paper, boxes, cups and plastic bags. The objects he had stolen or collected were hoarded in his living room. He was easily annoyed if others touched his collections. His explanation for the stealing was self-centred, showing limited understanding of its consequences and little empathy for the distress he might have caused. He admitted that he enjoyed stealing. He obviously did have a conduct problem. However, he had no other behaviour usually associated with the diagnosis of conduct disorder, his presentation did not meet the diagnostic criteria for a secondary diagnosis of conduct disorder.