Here’s how Conelea and Jacob describe what they will talk about in this webinar:

“Many people with autism have obsessive-compulsive behaviors, which may take the form of the classic repetitive behaviors closely associated with autism. These behaviors may overlap with features of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and tic disorders and even lead to co-occurring diagnoses. Broadly, repetitive behaviors associated with autism fall into two subgroups: Repetitive sensory and motor behaviors, such as hand-flapping and body-rocking; and behaviors that involve cognitive and habit systems, such as insistence on sameness. How these behaviors manifest can vary by age, intelligence, severity of autism traits and co-occurring conditions.

“In this webinar, we will discuss obsessive-compulsive behaviors in autism and OCD. We will also present data describing how these behaviors emerge during developmental phases. Traditional repetitive behavior assessments don’t delve into the mechanisms thought to underlie these behaviors. There is a pressing need for new tools to measure and differentiate repetitive behaviors in autism. We will argue that the challenges in measuring obsessive-compulsive behaviors hinder our ability to understand how they manifest and our ability to develop novel treatments. In order to achieve these things, the field needs to generate larger samples, collaborative resources, novel technologies and more refined measurement with innovative statistical approaches.”

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