Is hoarding a common autistic trait?

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I wondered if anyone could tell me if it is or not. I'm very attached to objects. I hoard too many things.

With the exception of a particular thing I collect, no.

Most objects are objects to me. I have material things I like, but if I were to lose them I would not be devastated and I generally don't attach any significance to them with the exception of the particular thing I collect, and one or two items I have inherited from my grandparents, and even if I lost those two things, it wouldn't be a crisis for me.

I don't like to throw out things I think someone might have a use for but if I don't want them and can't get those things to a person who might want or need them, they get tossed.

I would get rid of things if I didn't worry that their feelings might get hurt. Irrational? Sure, but there it is. It's a common malady with hoarders actually.

over many years of trying to help non-human animals, i've encountered many animal hoarders. no matter the atrocious conditions, they all thought they were doing the right thing. when someone is keeping hundreds of feral cats locked in their home, that's a serious problem. is your hoarding a serious problem?

are you saving used chewing gum...or used paper towels....or? it's only a problem if it's a problem. minor hoarding incidents are probably harmless. after all, we're all a little off or we wouldn't be here.

is there someone you trust to help you? if it involves animals, please tell me what is going on and we'll see where to go from here. it's not always bad. i know a lady who lives with 50 cats+ or - and they all get regular vet care, are loved, and her home is always clean. hard to see a problem with that.

I only hoard things I like:

lipglosses
monkey things
cool clothes
shoes
little toys
dolls
pillows
hair scrunchies
girl scout badges and pins
purses

Hoarding and collecting are not the same thing:

>>>Previous HOARDING Vs COLLECTING thread <<<

I collect records, CDs and Routemasters. I hoard books.

omg, lol.

pardon the expression.

but that made me remember when i was 8 or 9 sticking chewed gum on the end of my bedframe.. it was a metal bedframe painted white. and i have no idea why i'd stick the gum there on the feet side. i would stick it all in a pile.

i remember keeping something in my ceiling, we had the kind in our basement that were panels that could be pushed up. maybe it was basketball cards. i didn't really like basketball, but i collected Shaq cards. ;0 no idea why. i for some reason thought i liked orlando magic, and they had Shaq. i had a cousin that lived in florida, that must be why. i seem to have been almost self-satirical at that age. before i got ahold of rubik's cube and all the other logic puzzle books and games i began to obsess on.

I hardly ever let go of electronic scrap. As soon as I throw something out, I will need to salvage a part from it. This law never fails. I've lately been trying to restrain myself from bringing home more of it. I've passed up some GREAT deals on things.

I have waaaayyyy too much junk. But I need it all!

Last edited by Blasty on 22 Aug 2010, 11:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

No. I collect some things (books), but I certainly wouldn't call myself a hoarder.

My mom says she thinks I'm going to grow up to be an animal horder and when I tell her I want a ferret or a friend for my bearded dragon, she says I enough animals. When I tell her I want to have a pet such-and-such she says I don't need any pets. I think still thinks I am going to be a horder. I know I'll have a lot of pets but I don't think I would ignore their needs. I am pretty obsessive about my meerkat collection, I have duplicates of various things simply because the packaging is diffrent. I've bought expensive books simply because meerkats were mintioned. As a child, I found it impossible to give away my toys and stuffed animals because I felt as if I was giving away friends. I didn't have any friends as a kid and my toys and stuffed animals filled that void. As an adult, I feel the same way about my stuffed animals and certain ones I must keep because I feel no one will love the pitculiar species and animal is such as an insect or octopus. I'm only willing to give up Lion King plushies if they are from they are from the release of the movie on DVD. If things don't fit a certian catagory, I don't have any touble getting rid of them. I don't keep trash either but I can understand how people would.

by no means all NTs are hoard free. May be different styles, though. I suspect there may bde minimalist Aspies.as well

Antiques and books

well geez jessi.......you sound like a normal young woman.....except i'm a little confused (ha! me confused) 'bout the 'monkey things'.

i'm a minimalist. furniture, clothes, art, friends, money. few, little, none.

Hoarding is closely related to OCD, so if you're autistic and you have a problem with this (and I mean "a problem" as in not having enough room to live in, spending way too much money, or physically dangerous environment--not just "I have so many special-interest-related collectibles that my room is a museum", because that's perfectly normal and healthy for autistics), then you might want to check to be sure you don't have something like hoarding-type OCD rather than just autism.

I had a tendency to hoard in childhood, and still have, somewhat; I've had to practice throwing things out, even things that still had some value, so that I don't encourage that tendency. It's very important to me to have an orderly environment, and this becomes harder the more I keep things I don't really need. Last year I got rid of a lot of extra stuff, and I was eventually throwing out up to five or six garbage bags' worth during a single spring-cleaning type event.

If you're worried about throwing something out, don't be. The worst that has ever happened to me was that I had to re-buy something I discovered I needed after all, and even that has hardly ever happened.

well, i sort of collect everything, then i hoard everything i collect, refusing to let it go. i mean, i have collections of Cacti, bouncy balls, manga book series, music, dragon themed things, harry potter things, etc. I would never let anyone take these things- i would physically stop them i enjoy collecting information on all these categories of things as well. once i get into something, i simply have to knoweverything about it