Identificando compulsiones en niños y adolescentes con trastorno del espectro autista

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Obsessive Compulsive Childhood Disorder (OCD) are neurodevelopmental disorders with an approximate prevalence between 1% and 3% respectively. Both disorders share characteristics as repetitive behaviors. Objective: To measure the repetitive behaviors in a sample of ASD children with the Spanish adaptation of the Child Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale por Autism Spectrum Disorder (CY-BOCS-ASD) and compared the characteristics of symptomology and serverity with those evaluated in an OCD matched group. Methods: 39 participants with ASD diagnoses (confirmed by the Autism Disorder Interview-Revised -ADI-R-) and 36 with OCD were evaluated. All the participants had an IQ above 70. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms were assessed with the Child Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) in the OCD group. Results: Children and adolescents with OCD showed higher rates on obsessive-compulsive symptoms (t = -3.632, p = .001). Compulsions of cleaning (p = .003), checking (p = .001), counting (p = .001), order and symmetry (p = .004), and miscellaneous (p = .001) were significantly more prevalent in the OCD group. The frequency, discomfort and interference are higher in patients with OCD than in patients with ASD. Conclusions: CY-BOCS-ASD could be a useful instrument to detect compulsive symptoms in children and adolescents with ASD. Having an instrument adapted to ASD to identify specifically compulsive symptomatology that interferes in functioning should be considered to prepare appropriate interventions in ASD children.