Many students found that CBT has similar effectiveness rates in  treating OCD in individuals with and without co-morbid ASD. However, some studies found that those with comorbid OCD and ASD  were more likely to have greater OCD severity post treatment, required more extensive CBT, needed extended treatment, and be prescribed  medication. 

OCD and Autism Spectrum Disorder Comorbidity: Effectiveness of CBT on Individuals with Co-morbid OCD and ASD 

For children and teens with OCD and subclinical traits of autism, the subclinical traits of autism did not affect the effectiveness of CBT treatment. 

OCD and Autism Spectrum Disorder: OCD and Subclinical Traits Treatment 

- Understanding that many people with autism struggle to picture a situation occurring a different way
- having someone rate the client's emotional state
- using language that matches that person's ability
- using visuals
- offering children rewards
- encourage people to be kind with themselves when they feel like they don't see the world the way others do

Santa Clara University

- Obsessions spark compulsions, not autism traits. 
- People with OCD can't "swap" their rituals, they need things to be done in a very specific way, whereas autistic people are more able to do different repetitive behaviors. 
- It's important to look at *why* people do the behaviors they do, which can be difficult for autistic people because they may lack insight or have communication challenges. 
- This can lead to misdiagnoses
- People may attribute behaviors due to being solely because of autism without looking at individual circumstances. 

Crucial Differences between Autism and OCD

Yuhas, D. (2019, Feb 19). Untangling the ties between autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Specturm. https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/untangling-ties-autism-obsessive-compulsive-disorder/

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