Presentation and Correlates of Hoarding Behaviors in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Comorbid Anxiety or Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms.
One in three kids with ASD plus anxiety/OCD hoards—screen girls and those with social or ADHD symptoms first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Van Hees et al. (2018) asked the kids with autism and anxiety or OCD about hoarding.
The children were 7 to 13 years old.
Parents filled out checklists on clutter, distress, and saving items.
What they found
One in three kids showed moderate hoarding.
Seven percent had severe or extreme hoarding.
Girls, kids with more social problems, and those with extra ADHD or anxiety had the highest scores.
How this fits with other research
Smith et al. (2010) saw the same overlap in adults, but hoarding was the one OC trait that did not rise with autism features.
The adult study skipped hoarding; Valérie’s child study zooms in on it and finds it is common.
Reus et al. (2013) showed ADHD boosts parent-rated autism severity; Valérie shows ADHD also boosts hoarding within the same group.
Lefebvre et al. (2021) found repetitive behaviors look almost identical across ASD and OCD families; hoarding may sit on that shared continuum.
Why it matters
If you serve kids with ASD plus anxiety or OCD, add two quick hoarding questions to your intake.
Watch girls and children with social or ADHD symptoms most closely.
Early clutter can hide under toys or school papers; catching it now saves years of later intervention.
Get CEUs on This Topic — Free
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Add two parent questions: 'Does your child panic if you discard old papers or broken toys?' and 'Are bedrooms or backpacks too full to use?'
02At a glance
03Original abstract
We investigated the presentation and correlates of hoarding behaviors in 204 children aged 7-13 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. Approximately 34% of the sample presented at least moderate levels, and with 7% presenting severe to extreme levels of hoarding. Child gender predicted hoarding severity. In addition, child ASD-related social difficulties together with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder symptom severity positively predicted hoarding controlling for child gender and restricted and repetitive behaviors. Finally, child anxiety/OCD symptoms positively predicted hoarding, controlling for all other factors. These results suggest hoarding behaviors may constitute a common feature of pediatric ASD with comorbid anxiety/OCD, particularly in girls and children with greater social difficulties and comorbid psychiatric symptom severity.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2018 · doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3645-3