Are there forms of high-functioning schizophrenia?

I believe my mother might be schizophrenic, but she doesn't have the symptoms people tend to associate with the disorder.

She's very paranoid, and believes in conspiracies against her and myself.The thing is, she manages her day-to-day affairs pretty well. She goes shopping, plans her budget pretty well, and takes care of herself physically. She doesn't hear voices or have physical hallucinations--the worst I've seen is her ongoing delusion that people break into her apartment and move stuff around, and that everyone in her building is out to "get" her. She's moved twice, changed her locks, but she still persists that this happens.

well alot of people who have this disease recover. they dont usually recover completely, at least not from a clinical standpoint, but a lot of them do recover socially. so at this point i guess they could be considered high functioning. even those that are at high risk for relapsing back into psychosis if they miss their medication can still be at least moderately functional when medicated. it all depends on the patient and the recovery plan. then there are those types of schizophrenia that never quite go into full fledged schiophrenia. those that are schizotypal have quite a few symptoms that are parallel to the symptoms of true schizophrenia, the only major difference being that they lack a diagnosable pattern and their daily functioning is not affected negatively. those who are schizophreniform have schizophrenic episodes for a short period of time, kind of like temporary schizophrenia. these two types are obviously not full fledged schizophrenia, but are similar and many ways while still being functional.

yeah i know someone that has those problems. it is a form of paranoid schizophrenia.
There are several types of schizophrenia and not everyone has to have all of the symptoms. If she trusts you, I would take her to see a psychiatrist
Absolutely, you need to either read the book or see the movie, A Beautiful Mind. The man was an absolute genius but suffered horribly from schizophrenia. He was able to pull it off somewhat for many years before he succumbed to its more darker symptoms. Get your mother to watch it and see if she says anything about being able to relate to what the guy in the movie is going through. If she does, it may be a wake up call to her that she might need to get help because even the mildest symptoms can be more debilitating than you could possibly understand.
Everyone who suffers from schizophrenia is different. I work in the mental health field and know many schizophrenics who do very well on there own. Does your mother take medication? There are other illnesses that cause the symptoms your mother is experiencing. I would take her to have a complete physical and go from there. Good luck :)