The first time I ever heard of OCD (Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder) was in the 1997 movie, As Good as It Gets. It’s a movie
about a writer who has OCD and his love interest, basically. As much as I knew
it then, I didn’t appreciate it until many years later, when working with
children on the spectrum made me read about it.
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| Image credit: Poster from Wikipedia |
Working with children with autism, I
have heard people talk about OCD in relations to autism, with some confusing
OCD with autism symptoms. But what exactly is OCD?
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| Image credit: https://manhattanpsychologygroup.com/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/ |
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is said
to be a type of Anxiety Disorder, characterized by repetitive and compulsive
behaviors that are a result of fears and distressing thoughts (obsessive). The behaviors
are used to cope with the fears and thoughts, they feel like the behavior will
avert something bad from happening. These behaviors range from ritualized
washing, tapping, touching, arranging and rearranging, checking, apologizing,
and certain mental rituals such as counting, or praying.
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| Image credigt: https://www.askdrshah.com/blog/tips-overcome-obsessive-compulsive-disorder/ |
Although like OCD, people on the
autism spectrum show repetitive behaviors, people on the spectrum will most
likely not think it through and can be unaware of what they are doing, and it
may just be because they enjoy the behavior, so the behavior is not as a result
of fearful thoughts. People that have OCD are afraid of germs and
contamination, harm coming to them or to others, intruders, that they may harm
others, among other things. And then display these compulsive behaviors as
responses to such thoughts.
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| Image credit: https://sites.google.com/a/cms.k12.nc.us/ap-psych-2a/ocd-and-other-compulsive-disorders |
But then can a person on the spectrum
have OCD?
Last year, I shared on this blog
about Anxiety, and I mentioned that it can be a comorbid disorder in some
people living with autism. It is the same for OCD. According to a 2011 study,
about 17% of people on the spectrum meet the criteria for OCD (Van Steensel, Bogels, and Perrin, 2011), but
according to Autism Speaks, the percentage of people on the spectrum that have
OCD ranges from 8% to 33%. Although these statistics are based on studies in
the US, and we do not have recorded data in Nigeria, there are families that
have expressed concerns about anxiety disorder and OCD in their children and
adults on the spectrum.
According to Autism
Speaks, OCD is not common in children on the spectrum, because it develops in
adolescents and adults. The cause of OCD is not fully known, but medical
professionals suggest that it can be genetic as it has a tendency to run in
certain families, or a result of habits that one may have developed over a long
period of time.
If you think that
you may have OCD or as a parent you think your teenager or adult on the autism spectrum
may have OCD, speak to a psychiatrist about it. Although there is no cure for
OCD, there are treatments that enable the patient cope better. As I said
earlier, it is a type of Anxiety Disorder, and so it can be treated through therapy
(Cognitive Behavior Therapy), or in some cases medications. Family support is
also important in helping people with OCD. Family members can help by praising
the efforts of the person with OCD, but no matter what you do, DO NOT make negative
comments about the person’s disorder.
May is Mental Health
Month, the mental health of everyone is important, including our children,
teenagers, and adults on the autism spectrum. Let's get educated about our mental health.
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