Expert Article
Some children and young people with autism live in a state where the home gradually becomes both a refuge, a prison, and a war zone. Outwardly, it may look like resistance, defiance, or lack of motivation. From within, it is often something else: a nervous system in constant alarm, severe OCD, alternating shutdown and meltdown, and a painful longing for a childhood and youth like others. The term “hikikomori” can be helpful in understanding this development, but only if we use it cautiously and without losing sight of the particular logics of autism and OCD.
