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Aspergers and OCD

nanddbee

Hi,

Just wondering if OCD is separate from Aspergers or part of it?

Daughter (10) has Aspergers diagnosis and is recently become more inflexible about seemingly trivial things.

e.g. her bedroom has a display of stuff she likes e.g. snow globe, Newton's cradle, Tardis, deLorean, nice pebbles, etc. But other things have been slowly added to it like a paperclip, a piece of paper, a loom band, a bead, a pair of sunglasses and an elastic band.

The display has been pretty much unchanged for around 9 months, and she has been very obessive about these being in exactly the right place. To the point where she does a check (she calls it "my check") every night before going to sleep. If something is moved even a millimetre, she has to adjust it. The elastic band has to be in a pefect figure of 8 shape.

I've been suspecting she spends a lot of time after lights out rearranging stuff.

Well last night she came down in a major panic because the elastic band was missing, but we managed to find it and all was ok.

Tonight she came down in floods of tears as she had broken the elastic band by trying to shape it to the figure of 8. She kept hugging herself and saying "it hurts". When we went up to her room she was panicking, pointing to the broken elastic band, saying "look at it, it hurts". Then she decided her dislay was "all or nothing" and we had to persuade her not to throw everything away. She was in major panic attack/tears for 30mins saying "I want to see a psychologist, I just want to be normal" Cry

I forgot to say, recently she has been saying she is scared of her display, because if things get put near it, they might get sucked in and then she won't be able to use them as they'll be part of the display forever. This happened to the sunglasses we bought her last summer which she won't use as they are now part of the display.

Then she started talking about how it was like she was trapped in a bubble and there was someone else in the bubble with her, controlling her thoughts and when the elastic band broke it popped the bubble Cry

This is the main example but not the only one. Last year we bought days of the week socks, only with Monday to Friday on. Since buying them, she HAS to wear them on the correct day, but we have only one pair of each, which has caused a few meltdowns when they couldn't be found or were in the wash and she has gone without socks rather than wear normal non-labelled socks.

Last weekend we bought her new days of the week socks and she has been anxious about them ever since. Firstly, the set included Saturday and Sunday and we had to throw them away because she absolutely will not wear them (she said the weekend is the only time she is free from the socks!).

Then she said the old ones had to go when the new ones arrive because she can't have two sets (even as spare).

Every bedtime she has panic attacks saying she is worried about the socks. I'm not sure whether this is as OCD as the display really, but it's a big issue.

So, anyway, sorry for the length. My question is, can someone have Aspergers and OCD, or is what she is going through part of her ASD?

If it's separate, should we see a doctor or psychologist? Get a diagnosis, treatment or what?

Thanks.

  • Thanks longman, I will definitely look that book up!

  • Consider security rather than OCD. Lining up or arranging objects seems to be quite common, and is more about having points of reference and consistency in an otherwise threatening, unpredictable and changing world.

    Granted the anxiety about things being drawn into these collections, or anything breaking affecting the whole seems worrying, but may simply relate to the need for certain predictable arrangements. That dependency could be quite scary for the individual needing them, but the boundary between OCD and having a need for consistent reference points needs to be considered.

    There is a chapter on this in Luke Jackson's "Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome - A user guide to adolescence" Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2002. Chapter 4 entitled Fascinations and Fixations includes the need to arrange objects and compulsion might prove helpful.

  • Hmm, good point on the socks. They seemed like the kind of thing that would appeal to her, and they did. But are obviously causing anxiety.

    I'll ask her if she would prefer to ditch them.

    She seemed a lot happier this morning regarding the display, like a spell had been broken.

    She also has a bedside table display. She doesn't call it that, but it has a collection of My Little Ponies on and some Minecraft figures. This has been in place for about 9 months too. We thought it was harmless and even a bit funny that she didn't play with these. After all, most adults have ornaments and photos that are never moved.

    But this morning she had moved the Minecraft figures into different positions and was playing with the ponies for the first time since they were placed there, laughing and saying "Now the ponies can eat the grass" (she has an artificial grass rug in her room).

    I have said we will move the display around regularly so it doesn't get stuck as permanent again and she thinks this is a good idea. I think there were even some items she didn't want in her display but she felt they coudn't be removed.

    Photos is a good idea - oops, shame we've moved it now, maybe next time.

    Will definitely look to get referral.

    It's odd she won't follow rules that others (such as parents and school) create, but creates seemingly bizarre rules which she has to follow. Another one is that the has to have her hair once a year cut on the last day of September!

  • I can't comment on her diagnosis, but if it was me, I would get rid of those socks ASAP! She sounds very self-aware for a 10 year old, and although it is likely to make her panic, the fact that she said that the weekend is the only time she is free from the socks, sounds like she is desperate for someone else to take the initiative, and will thank you for it afterwards. 

    Re her display, could you take her places where she can deliberately make 'displays' that are not permanent, eg twig/flower/sand sculptures? Perhaps take photos as you go along (there are many artists who do just this, making beautiful temporary art in nature). Or perhaps you could take some nice photos of her display as it is, to reassure her that *if* she ever decides to change it or get rid of it, she has a record of what it looked like.

    I would also ask for a referral to a psychologist, especially seeing as she has asked for this herself. If your GP just offers drugs I would change docs, though.