Asperger's with very new OCD type behaviour

I didn't know what OCD was when I was told I had it.  It's a way of trying to control your surroundings in the sometimes scary autistic world.  He maybe becoming more aware as he is getting older so it's maybe why it's randomly appearing.  Mine appeared from no where about 3 months after a work colleague was lost in a car accident, and all of a sudden I was creating rituals more and more and my agrophobia got worse, but it did start off when I was in secondary school.  I got CBT for it which helped a lot.  I still have issues with it but nothing to the extent it was.  It's just his way of trying to control his surroundings, so there is maybe something that has triggered it.  One of the worst things to do is view it as something he is doing wrong, because for some of us it's just a way of coping.

Yes my daughter started arranging things too.  She has this little dressing table and had to lay out the items on it in a specific way and if I move them or knock them she tells me off.  It's more than about being tidy with her too, there is a specific way she wants things.

The school need a good talking to.  As your son is high-functioning he is likely to be able to do very well academically and they cannot get blinded by his condition(s).  They are there to teach him and they are supposed to teach him to his level.  Perhaps you could call a meeting.  Tell them if they don't believe he is capable they can get an EP to test him or you could bring in things from home he has done.

Thanks IntenseWorld for your response.

To be clear on one point the AS is co-morbid with the Noonan's - Noonan's is a 'pick and mix' genetic syndrome which was diagnosed originally at about 2 1/2, whereas the AD wasn't diagnosed until 10 via a paediatrician, but the Noonan's has behavioural issues similar in context to AD, but additional physical issues.  However, the AD allowed us to access a whole host of support services not available to us with just the NS because no-one's ever heard of it! (about 1 in 5000). The mix is unusual, at least in Wiltshire where at one point there was one other pupil with NS but no-one with both.

The interesting description in your reply is the 'Almost overnight' comment. That's exactly what's happened to my son - it's nice to have someone that has been through it!

We will monitor the situation, and manage the issues as they arrive.  It's less tidying more organising / arranging stuff, which can - in the first few days - extremely disconcerting.

As for the parent's evening, we have discussed it - as a higher-functioning ASD sufferer the expectations he has are quite high which we think MAYBE a catalyst for the behaviour - and associated with it is the constant issues we have with the school only seeing 'Austistic Spectrum' and believing that he cannot therefore do 'well'.  As he has a statement and spends time in a resource base during breaks and lunch, this unfortunately only reinforces the discrimination he faces.

Thanks again for you reply. 

OCD is often part and parcel of ASD, or can be co-morbid, the jury's out on the total facts of the matter (you might find this interesting:

http://www.ocfoundation.org/eo_aspergers.aspx)

Now ASD is complex, and "pure" OCD has brain differences as well.

At least 70% of people with ASD have a co-morbid condition (as you know from your son).

From the research I have done, OCD usually starts around adolescence onwards, the type of OCD you get in Asperger's often has a much earlier onset.

I have Asperger's and I have OCD habits, which appear to be in-built to my condition, as it's not severe and I don't feel something bad will happen if I don't do them, it's just a compulsion.  For me, it's about controlling my world, as the world is an anxiety-causing place.

My youngest daughter is HFA and she has always been so messy and disorganised, never looks properly when trying to find things, never puts things away etc.  Almost overnight, at age 8 she has suddenly wanted to become tidy.  She is now more bothered by mess and I thought she would be a messy person for life.  I believe she also has ADHD and have asked her school to recommend to her paediatrician she be assessed.

My eldest daugher has AS and has always, from the earliest age been obsessively tidy, everything has to be in it's proper place and lined up and put away in the same order.  She also has bouts of hand-washing OCD and is very particular about having a messy mouth after eating, washing hands after eating even if there is nothing on them, stains on her clothing, touching anything she thinks is dirty.  I still believe that this is just her obsessive nature as part of her AS rather than separate OCD as she never expresses anxiety over her habits and doesn't appear to have intrusive thoughts etc. which a true OCD-er would do.

Your son has probably just got to an age where he realises he has more control over his world than he realised and is taking action with one thing he can, which is organising his belongings.  It is probably related to anxiety as you suggest.  Maybe the parent's evening has been a trigger but you may find he continues in this vein, it may be coincidental with the timing.  I presume you have talked to him about the parent's evening being nothing to worry about and it's only school work it's not the end of the world etc.?