is this because of AS ?

[thriftychic]

I am still learning about aspergers so forgive me if im asking a stupid question.
ds2 (14) is mad into fishing , he has all the best gear bought for birthdays etc he asked for everything to be a certain brand . last night when he was in bed he told dh that he just didnt know what to do because he now needs x y and z (more gear) and you cant get one particular thing in this brand and blah blah he needs everything to match and he cant stop thinking about it and its driving him mad .
He also said that hes the same with his fifa x box game and it drives him mad thinking and thinking about his team because he wants the colours to match or something.
I have got used to him being a bit ott with stuff like this but dh came downstairs saying hes obsessing because of his AS , i then started thinking about ocd and worrying about something that ive never given head space to before ! is this the usual with AS ?
tell me more ??

It sounds like it to me DS 11 Aspergers can be much the same and worries and worries about aquiring one thing and then about the next thing. It is a way of controlling their world if you want to think of it that way. The obsession can go on for a long time and then suddenly stop. We try and make sure DS is involved in a wide range of activities to attempt to curb the fixation on just one thing, which does seem to work. Also when he is blathering on, we tell him he has one minute to tell us what he needs to, at the end of the time we hold our hands up and he is not allowed to continue. Autism Support told us to do this and it does work, and has saved my sanity at times!

It's not stupid question at all! I'm constantly learning what works for my DS (I've read on here that if you know one child on the spectrum, then you know one child!)
According to Madeleine Portwood, there's a lot of overlap between OCD, ASD, dyspraxia, dyslexia etc.
My ASD DS1 definitely obsesses over getting the full set of stuff (currently Lego Star Wars).
I stumbled into using meditation for my DS and it definitely helps him to control the thinking (especially where irrational fears are preventing him from falling asleep). Would that help do you think?

My friend's son, aspergers and ADHD diagnosis, once went through a phase of being obsessed by cucumber, but insisted on putting the cucumber back together again before he could eat it, if there were any slices missing then he went into a melt down! The ADHD diagnosis meant that he had a number of short term obsessions, whilst his long term one was the boy 3 doors down!

The things you mention sound very typical of a child who likes routine/things how they want them.

thanks for the suggestions , not sure if ds2 would go for the meditation idea but i think i will give that one a try myself !

Yes, I wasn't sure at all myself at first, but I did it one night that he was having a bit of a panic attack having watched a 'mildly' scary documentary at his friend's house. Couldn't get to sleep as he was obsessively thinking about it ..I just started talking to him and got him to visualise an activity that he really loves.
He got into it, calmed down and fell asleep and ever since has been receptive to it if he needs t. I downloaded an app on my phone that he knows he can use if he needs...though he prefers to listen to me talking.

I started using the Headspace app which I like (though I don't forget to do it daily )

Sounds like OCD to me and /or both of which are common features of Aspergers

OMG this thread has been a lifeline! My DS just been referred for ASD aseessment - probable AS. He also seems an ungrateful wretch obsesses about getting the complete sets of everything. He loves Hornby and lego city and is very happy for 5 minutes when he gets a new set putting it together but then becomes more interested in the leaflets saying what else you can get, He's always talking about the next part he needs.

with ds2 its more that he wants a particular thing , then once hes got it he starts on about the next thing sometimes something totally different but he goes all out to get it often insisting we put the last thing on ebay . it has got ridiculous at times , he got a drum kit for xmas that he had obsessed over , a few months later it was meltdowns galore because he wanted us to agree to sell it so he could buy a bike ! Then the bike was old news and he wanted a different custom made bike . now its all about the fishing . he wants to sell his rod bag and his net bag for another rod bag and net bag in a different make because hes now having everything in this other make apparently it never ends , he sits there looking on the internet and magazines constantly for the next thing to aquire and when hes told he will have to wait until xmas he goes into a big misery and has loads of meltdowns .

So familiar these stories!
My daughter (9 AS) always has one obsessive collection (or more) going on! The collection of choice right now is Beanie Babies....and there are SO many to collect! She started off collecting them a few months ago, then someone mistakenly told her she shouldn't take the ear tags off, so now she's started all over again collecting the ones she had before (and more) with the labels attached.
Before this it was Schliek animals, before this it was these alien egg things with slime in them, she has to have them in family groups, mum, dad, baby/babies.
She never has enough of whatever it is she's collecting, does endless research on the internet to look for what ones she's missing.
I've had to try to wean her off the Beanie Babies, she running out of room in her bedroom!
Last week she decided to take 21 beanie dogs to the holiday club, I had to say no, she had them all in a carrier bag she could barely lift!
I also worried about what the other kids would've thought of her bringing that many toys in.
So tiresome!

Oh yes, that's so typically AS.

Also, don't be surprised and hurt if he, one day, almost at random, decides to stop it all and get rid of everything.

Should have read the whole thread - I see that is how he operates!

I thikn that, for a lot of people with neurological difference that make them prone to such obsessive behaviours, the pursuit is often so much more satisfying than the catch.

yes i think your right !