Kids with OCD

Doesn't everyone have OCD tendency's or is that just called being very particular about something.....my husband swears that I have it and I have seen my twin girls do things that made me go hmmmm.....

Google PANDAS....Its about Strep and OCD.
Many children with autism have OCD behaviors.
Not very many resources!

My little sister (who's now 18) has lived with OCD most of her life. My stepmother spent a lot of time finding a therapist and/or pyschiatrist to help her. Let me know if you'd like me to contact them. Best of luck on your story.

Also, when she was 17, my little sister finally found a therapist to help her. This therapist thinks that my sister may have PANDAS.

Having had some children with unique needs, I can testify that many children's experience with a particular condition can be very different than the next child. some of it is part of the condition or the severity of it -- and some is from how the parents get or accept training and help.

I presume you will be getting information from some specialists and maybe there are even some coaches out there who work with them (like they do with A.D.D.).

Your article could be profoundly important if you seed it with the best information and even resources available (and not just generic definition of OCD). Good luck.

You might check out Asperger's Syndrome. My grandson is an "aspie" and is very obsessive/compulsive. Seems to be part of that condition.

J.,

I don't know if my 3 and a half year old son truly has OCD, but it sure seems like he does! He is extremely difficult because he ALWAYS has to be first - first out of the car, first in the house, first upstairs, first downstairs, first out of his room, first out of the bath (I have 2 other kids), etc. etc. etc. He always says, "WAIT! I go first. Follow the leader!" And then we sing the song "following the leader, the leader, the leader..." If I walk ahead of him, he has a meltdown - plops to the floor hysterically and says, "No mom, I go first!" I was convinced he has OCD, but someone told me that it might only be a control issue. She said that an example of OCD is someone who obsessively washes their hands a million times a day, checks things a million times a day, etc. My son isn't like that - he just always must be first. Maybe there is an OCD spectrum (I have no idea, but maybe there is), and if there is, maybe my son would fall on the high functioning level of the spectrum, and someone who checks things a million times a day would fall on the lower functioning OCD spectrum. Who knows. I don't know if this has helped you any, but good luck!

Our daughter was diagnosed with OCD in 1st grade. She is now in 6th grade. If you would like an incredibly articulate kid to speak with, she would be happy to give you information (from a kid’s point of view). And, I’m happy to speak with you from a mom’s point of view. We also had a great therapist who worked with us. I’m sure you could gain information from her. Additionally, Johns Hopkins has an entire research department devoted to the OCD topic. We learned a lot through them. We’ve battled long, hard and naturally through this process. We had to really wrap our brains around what it all means. Our daughter had to call it something in order to save herself from the shame she felt. I’m happy to report we are ritual free today. I’m including my old posts for review. Please do contact me. We are happy to help. A lot has changed and we've learned so much since my last posts. Take care and good luck!

Good morning Darcie,
I really feel for these anxious kiddos. Our daughter is one of them. Confession was part of a ritual that lasted for months in our home (and very common for anxiety/OCD kiddos). Our daughter needed to get “the feel bads out” as she would say. Sometimes, this would take place every few minutes. Sometimes, on the hour (so to speak) and often just after school and before bed in a purging sort of episode.
I’m including an old post I wrote (below). I know it’s not exactly what you’re talking about, but I hope it provides some insight.
Your daughter is telling you her feelings and that’s a great sign, as hard as that can be at times. I’m not an expert, at all, but one thing we did see in our daughter was impulsivity as a close friend to anxiety. Maybe this out of control side of your daughter is that and it is related to anxiety???
We saw shame, loss of confidence and loss of desire to learn as a result of our daughter’s anxiety. It’s a very stressful process. I hope you know there are people to support you and your daughter if you need it. Our daughter is now almost 11. Thankfully, we’ve learned many skills along the way. I’m happy to share more with you if you would like. You’re welcome to e-mail me with any questions. Our daughter is also an incredible resource as she’s willing to share all feelings of anxiety, OCD, what helped and what did not help. I can say, for sure, stress and anxiety do not mix. Stress and OCD do not mix. Anxiety/OCD and school are really tough for a lot of these kids. Good job reaching out and asking these questions. Your daughter is one lucky girl.
OLD POST:
It’s a painful thing to experience your child upset in this way day to day. Our daughter is almost 10. She was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder when she was 7. We noticed separation difficult for her since she was very little. And, I mean extreme. Everyone always told me this was normal and she would get over it. Meanwhile, she was suffering every day. By first grade it was clear she was not getting over it. We were soooooooooooooo thankful her first grade teacher was kind and helped her through her worries and concerns. This could range from worry that children were fighting for her attention (she felt guilty she couldn’t give everyone her attention at the same time) or worry because they had a fire drill. She would worry when other children would worry. She would worry if the teacher seemed busy or upset. She just worried about every little thing. And, when she would worry she would spiral. It eventually would make her think of us and our safety here at home, while she was away from us. The following were triggers for our daughter (still are): Mondays (returning to school), substitute teachers, a change in the schedule, a field trip, a child making a scary comment (what happens if there’s a fire when you’re away from home, what if your mom got hurt, etc), stays away from us were difficult because she didn’t feel she could trust her anxieties with other people and so on. I’m happy to discuss in more detail, if wanted.
Here’s what I would do to help her (in no particular order):
Start putting words to her feelings (you can write it on a piece of paper or she can) and put it in a jar. The worries are private and safe and gone from her head. She will start to learn to identify them and let go.
Careful with transitions – talk to the teacher, the school counselor and every Monday maybe she can go see the school counselor to ease into the school routine, etc.
Set up “safe people” for her to go talk to if she’s really feeling worried and anxious. For our daughter, this was the school counselor and a couple select teachers she loved.
Send notes to school with her so she can read them when she’s feeling concerned.
Enroll her in a class with other children who have anxiety (with the counselor). They play fun games, they talk about their feelings, and they read books related to worries. It was great for our daughter.
Identify her triggers (certain teachers, kids, routine changes, etc. and set up a plan for her). Our daughter had a health plan to allow her to go to her safe people when she needed, to call home if it was just simple reassurance, to give me notice when a substitute was coming in, notice of fire drills, lock downs, etc.
Take notice of her diet (we can’t do anything with high fructose corn or caffeine, etc)
Regarding your family, make sure they take her anxiety seriously. Our daughter felt terrible when she was treated like her worries were just childish. These kids are smart and they pick up on things other people may not notice, feel or even think to worry about. And, their worries are very real to them. They need reassurance, strength, and consistency to help teach them how to manage their fears.
Our daughter (thankfully) is really verbal. She has been able to walk me, our family, the counselor and school through her anxious mind. She told us that she felt ashamed and that her confidence was dying inside as a result of her anxiety and how everyone treated her. She would try and hide it, which would make it worse. She started developing rituals (OCD) to deal with her anxiety. They took up time, and made her feel even worse. That’s an entirely different story….I can talk more about that if you would like.
The reason we had our daughter diagnosed was because things became worse and worse and we knew (like you) second grade was around the corner. We have never medicated. We do relax techniques, have tea time, discussions about her worries and concerns, and really support her feeling like she has a voice. And, definitely I have to make sure I don’t show her my concerns. I have to be truthful but not "worried" about it. Just very matter of fact with her.
I am happy to report that she is doing great!!!! We haven’t had a sick stomach in over a year. She has learned some excellent coping skills, while being supported through all of this. She still has anxiety, don’t me wrong, but we’ve learned how to manage it, head it off, help when she is facing a trigger.
Good luck. If I can answer any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. I had endless days with our daughter’s anxiety. I know how hard it really can be, emotionally, for the entire family.
Take care,
R

I don't know if it is common. I think unless it is "in the way" it isn't addressed by moms or doctors.
I know my daughter has a form of OCD, but it isn't debilitating and does not interfere with her every day activities.
When putting away the silverware she makes sure all the spoons and forks are stacked with like spoons and forks. She will make sure all her clothes are in the right order, all whites, all blacks, all darks, in color order all lights in color order.
Her world that she is in charge of is very orderly, but it has not interfered with her schooling or social life so I have just accepted it as part of her.
She does not wash her hands every ten minutes or exhibit anything like that.
She has always needed to be on more of a schedule than my others. She does not do transitions well at all, unless she knows in advance what is coming up.

Just as a resource; check with the head of pediatric psychiatry at your local children's hospital AND university. They are rarely the same person.

There is a link between OCD and chronic strep or PANDAS

What a wonderful opportunity for you! Please share with us where your article will be published.

Further to Nicole's post, Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus - It's an encephylitic attach on the brain caused by too many antibodies to strep, and it causes OCD. Please go to: http://pandasnetwork.org/

Also, check out the book, "Saving Sammy: The Boy Who Caught OCD"

http://www.savingsammy.net

Pandas is a very rare disease. Most doctors won't diagnose it, much less treat it. But trust me, it is very real, and we PANDAS Moms know the heartbreak of this debilitating disease. There is a Dallas area support group that meets the 4th Monday of the month in Frisco, and you are welcome to come speak with us in person.

Good luck with this. I have a cousin who's husband and middle son have OCD. I've seen how particular they are with everything.