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OCD and autism

since it’s autism acceptance month, I thought I’d do an OCD Project post about the overlap between autism and OCD!

fast facts:

17% of autistic folk also have OCD

autistic people are twice as likely as allistic to receive a late diagnosis of OCD

people with OCD are four times more likely to receive a late diagnosis of autism than those without

overlapping symptoms:

repetitive behaviours

anxiety

hoarding

sensory issues

executive dysfunction

desire for routine

what do they look like together?

this is a complicated question, because both OCD and autism can have a lot of different symptoms and presentations. but common issues include:

increased chance of alexithymia, which you can read about here

autistic people often get overwhelmed more easily than allistic people, which means we may also have a lower anxiety threshold before we turn to a compulsion

over-reliance on stimming can turn stims into compulsions — because almost anything can become a compulsion

high likelihood of thought spirals and meltdowns feeding into each other

increased likelihood of communication challenges, making it harder for others to understand what they’re doing and why

in conclusion:

autism and OCD can be hard to live with on their own, but together they cause unique challenges that need to be countered very carefully. despite a high comorbidity rate, it can be hard to be diagnosed with both due to similarities in external presentation.