Expert: James Michael Roan - 4/17/2006

Question
hi i'm 15 years old and have many obsessive compulsive disorders for example:
everytime i get in the car i have to run my finger around the handle and lock and if i dont do it i get extremely agitated. My mum is a nurse and mentioned something about autism before when i mentioned this to her, she says she has noticed it and that i have to be careful wen i get older that they dont get worse

i was wondering if you could explain autism to me please and if you think i could be slightly autistic

thnx alot
Kay

Answer
Hi Kay;

I think you may be a long way off from autism. It is common to have obsessions and compulsions. Autism is fundamentally a social delay that negatively impacts the acquisition and development of verbal and nonverbal communication. It is accompanied by repetitive and/or stereotyped behaviors. In adolescence this takes the form of a very narrow range of interests in which the individual appear to obsess over.

Please keep in mind that obsessive-compulsive behavior is really only a problem if it interferes significantly with your daily functioning in some way.

Most obsessive-compulsive behavior emerges as a result of anxiety.

Write back if you have more information or would like to explore this further.

Take care,
James