The overlap between autism and hoarding

Hoarding occurs when people amass objects, often with no value to others, and have trouble parting with them. The resulting accumulation of clutter can lead to an unsafe living environment and negatively affect a person’s relationships and ability to function. 

Hoarding can be both a behavior and a mental health condition, depending on the severity of the impairments it causes. Research shows that hoarding disorder affects approximately 2.6% of the general U.S. population. But it may be more prevalent among neurodivergent people, including those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or autism. One study estimates that hoarding behaviors occur in as many as 7.4% of adults with autism. 

Is hoarding a sign of autism?

While people with autism may be more prone to hoarding, it can affect anyone. It’s not a formally recognized sign of autism, and it can accompany a variety of mental health conditions. However, if a person is showing signs of autism and engaging in hoarding behaviors, it may be helpful to seek a professional evaluation.

Hoarding behaviors include:

• Having persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value
• Having difficulty using living spaces due to the large amount of items present
• Feeling intense emotional distress when asked to get rid of items 
• Frequently losing important belongings due to clutter
• Feeling overwhelmed by the clutter but unable to stop accumulating items
• Frequently taking free items they don’t need (like sugar packets or napkins from a restaurant)
• Purchasing items because of a bargain or bulk buying to save for “another time”
• Being unwilling to let people enter their home, even to make necessary repairs

We aren’t completely sure why hoarding is so common among autistic people. But there’s some evidence to suggest that it’s because of a tendency to have a strong emotional attachment to objects. For people with autism, this attachment may go beyond sentimental value. These items may provide a sense of continuity by anchoring them to memories that help shape their identity. This may be, in part, what makes it so difficult for people with autism to dispose of their possessions. 

In addition, autism is known to cause challenges with executive functioning skills, like planning and organizing. If a person has trouble planning for the future, they really might not know when they’ll need an item. So, in response, they may struggle to throw things away. If a person has difficulty with time management or prioritization, objects might accumulate simply because they never get around to disposing of them.

How does hoarding affect people with autism?

Left untreated, compulsive hoarding can have negative consequences for anyone who experiences it. However, these outcomes may be more difficult to manage in the presence of co-occurring conditions, like autism. 

Some of the most common effects of hoarding include:

• Unsafe living situations
• Difficulty maintaining personal hygiene
• Inability to complete tasks of daily living (like cooking, showering, or doing laundry)
• Strained relationships with loved ones
• Shame and loneliness

The difference between collecting and hoarding

It’s important to keep in mind that collecting isn’t the same as hoarding. In addition to just being fun, collecting can be a coping strategy and means of stress relief for autistic people. Autism is also known to cause repetitive behaviors and hyperspecific interests. 

So it’s not uncommon for people with autism to collect things. For example, they might collect toys, action figures, model cars or airplanes, bottle caps, stones, hats, or shoes, depending on their interests. 

For example, imagine a person with autism who absolutely loves baseball. They might spend much of their free time researching their favorite teams and players and scouring the internet for baseball cards to add to their collection. Unlike hoarding, which tends to result in clutter disarray, a collector would take meticulous care of their belongings and enjoy organizing their collection. 

Decluttering strategies for autistic people

If you have autism and are engaging in compulsive hoarding, you may benefit from working with a behavioral therapist. But there are also some self-management strategies that can help you stay organized and maintain a safe, comfortable living environment.

These self-management strategies include:

• Understanding the behavior: Take some time to self-reflect and consider the underlying reason you feel compelled to hoard. What emotions come up for you? For example, maybe it helps relieve stress or anxiety. Or perhaps it makes you feel connected to other people or your surroundings. Understanding what’s driving your behavior is an important part of changing it.
• Writing it down: If you can’t figure out the underlying emotions tied to your hoarding right away, that’s OK. These insights can take time to surface. But journaling your thoughts and feelings about the objects you’re holding onto can shed some light on what they mean to you.
• Examining your executive functioning: Sometimes, hoarding happens because of challenges with executive functioning skills, like organization, planning, time management, and task prioritization. If this is true for you, look for ways to improve those skills. For example, you can use a calendar app or timer to remind yourself to throw unneeded items away at regular intervals.
• Breaking it down: If you’re feeling overwhelmed by clutter, don’t try to tackle every room in your home at once. Instead, break cleaning and organizing tasks down into smaller, more manageable steps. Try to take things one step at a time.
• Practicing new coping strategies: If you’re using hoarding to manage uncomfortable emotions, know that you can learn new, healthier ways to achieve that same goal. For example, if you’re having difficulty managing anxiety, mindfulness skills, like meditation, can help.

Can therapy help with hoarding?

Receiving support for your mental health can help you embrace your neurodivergence and manage compulsive hoarding. A behavioral therapist can help you learn new ways of responding to stress and replace unwanted behaviors with healthier coping strategies. 

Depending on your diagnosis and the severity of your symptoms, your therapist may use various approaches to help you learn to manage your hoarding. For example, this may involve a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that can be modified for people living with autism. CBT can help you shift away from unwanted behaviors — like hoarding — by addressing motivation, decision-making skills, organization, and more.

Find care with Rula

While anyone can develop compulsive hoarding, it may be more prevalent among people with autism. Despite its negative effects, hoarding can be a way for autistic people to create memories, reduce anxiety, and manage stress. It can also be the result of difficulties with executive functioning skills, like time management and organization. But regardless of the underlying reason for the behavior, hoarding can be managed with the right support. 

At Rula, we believe that everyone deserves timely access to affordable, specialized mental healthcare. No matter what you’re experiencing, you can use our therapist-matching program to find an in-network provider in just a few clicks. With over 10,000 providers to choose from, you can connect with the provider of your choice via live video as soon as tomorrow.

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