Is this just AS or is it something else?

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aurea
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06 Feb 2008, 2:56 pm

J my 9 year old son has to turn the lights on when he enters any room in our house. (I know he scared of the dark but it's day time)
He has to shut the bathroom window every time he goes in there(the only window in the house with no fly screen he says things might come in the window)
His bed has to be pushed tight up to the wall-he checks every night (in case spiders crawl up the walls he says)
He checks traffic light buttons before pushing them-he says they might have germs.
He often asks if things might have germs.
Is this all normal AS behaviour or is something else going on? like maybe ocd?



06 Feb 2008, 3:20 pm

This all sounds like OCD to me. OCDers often have a fear of germs and they have to do certain things when they enter a room like turn on the light switch certain mount of times.



blessedmom
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06 Feb 2008, 3:36 pm

Both of mys sons with AS do these things and I used to, as well. With AS it seems to stem more from anxiety about illness or things we are afraid of. My kids all have their beds shoved right against the walls. For 2 of them it is the fear of spiders, for the other two it's the comfort of having only one side of the bed open. The 2 Aspies always have to lights on in the daytime, as do I. In my case, at night it is because I hate the dark and I'll admit I'm afraid of being stuck in it, and in the daytime, it's because I seem to need the extra light or I start to feel depressed and tired. Because many Aspies have light sensitivities, this may be an issue for him.

Both of my sons have extreme anxiety about getting sick, especially if there's something going around that involves vomiting. They're almost phobic about it. They are very careful about germs because of that fear. It isn't an OCD behaviour, it's a precaution.



Omma
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06 Feb 2008, 3:58 pm

My son (AS) always turns lights on during the day too. He always asks if he needs to wash his hands, after he touches things. He worries about germs too.



gbollard
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06 Feb 2008, 4:10 pm

Aspergers has components of OCD in it.

If you drummed GERMS into him, then he'll develop a rule about them and they'll look like OCD but aren't. I took about 20 years to lose the germ rule.

The darkness rules are similar - I think they're aspie as well.



Tortuga
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06 Feb 2008, 4:15 pm

My 9-yr-old is the same way about the lights. He shuts closet doors when he enters a bedroom. He likes to shut the bathroom door that's closest to his bedroom at night. He is HFA.

But, I had similar rituals when I was his age concerning lights and closet doors and I'm NT and I'm not OCD.



ster
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06 Feb 2008, 4:28 pm

my daughter does some of these behaviors, but is not currently dxed as AS. my AS son does the thing with the bed, and the window



KimJ
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06 Feb 2008, 4:30 pm

I will also add that schools are teaching kids to be phobic about germs too. They all use hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial soap, which isn't really that good for you. My son used hand santizer on an open cut at school because (he says) the teacher wouldn't let him get a band aid at the nurse's office.
MOst hand soap has anti-bacterial ingredients in it and it's hard to find "plain" soap. We use plan stuff because not all germs are bad. Washing hands vigorously with warm water for 20-30 seconds is good. A survey in a hospital back in my hometown found that healthcare professionals actually substitute hand sanitizer for hand washing when it's available.

It's really important to emphasize that not all germs are bad, cleaning trouble spots (telephone, faucets) occasionally is okay, hand washing is best.



katrine
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07 Feb 2008, 1:18 pm

Off subject, but I agree anti-bacterials like triclosan are BAD - there forbidden in my country (Denmark) as they lead to resistent strains of bacteria.
Soap and water mechanically removes dirt and germs - ethanol kills germs. Only really neccesary in health care., IMO.
But a gross detail.. my NT son's school has proper towels instead of paper ones, cause the kids evidently make a mess them. Disgusting with grotty wet towels used by 100 different kids. My son refuses to use the school bathrooms...