Can a toddler have OCD?

[orangutangerine]

My DD is 23 months old. These are a few of her typical behaviours:

• Will only go in her cot when there are a specific set of soft toys placed in a specific place

• Is very specific about which beaker/bowl/plate/cutlery she wants to use

• If she gets anything on her hands she wants to wash them straight away. Same goes if anything gets on her clothes she has to change straight away.

• If there are any things the same colour within a group of things, they have to be placed together

• Anything like cards, bricks or books have to be perfectly lined up or piled up

It isn't just a case of her kicking up a bit of a fuss if anything isn't as she wants it. It's uncontrollable and complete tantrum occassionally resulting in vomiting.

I know I give in and pander to her but I can't bear to see her like it. Do you think it's just her trying to gain control over things and me and I'm encouraging it/making it worse and I should hold my ground? Or do you think she could genuinely have early indications of OCD that should be dealt with appropriately?

(My DS is very laid back and she is so different I'm not sure if it's in the realms of normal behaviour.)

OCD IS normal for toddlers, ime. :)

Ds obsessively washed his hands til they bled. He did the other things wrt to arrangement. He couldnt be distracted from it. So yes imo it can be more serious then normal toddler OCD but it is very common for toddlers to appear a bit ocd as they express the need to sort and wish for routine.

IMO toddlers do like repetition. My DS was very like this especially with not wanting dirty hands.....he wouldn't walk on the sand at the beach until he was about 3 or 4. He is still finiky about things but is much more relaxed than in his toddler years.
Maybe what you need to watch for is him not growing out of these tendancies as he gets a bit older.

It can be a sign of autism, like LeonieDelt says. However my mate's now 4 year old had an OCD phase when he was a bit younger, and she was worried but he seems to have grown out of it now.

My ds hated his hands being dirty at this age too. He also had to have everything in red. He went rou d with the same red little matchbox car in his hand for months. He lined his cars up a lot too but not other toys. Toddlers are like that. My ds is nearly 6 now and much more chilled about stuff, although red is still his favourite colour, and I have to drag him in the bath!

DD1 was exactly as you describe at that age. I didn't know at the time she had a severe speech & language disorder and as she couldn't express herself it was her only means of control. Probably not what you want to hear but I actually wish I hadn't listened to all the people who at the time said "all toddlers do that".

If you feel there could be an issue there see what your gp or health visitor thinks at her 2 year check.

I've got 3 girls; they all went through phases of being very fussy, but with DD2 it was somewhat more intense because (we now know) she has Aspergers.

Yes some toddlers will have a few little obssessions.
My nephew (who has no SN) when aged 3 had a couple, he liked to open and close by himself the tap when washing his hands and he liked eating from the same plate and his own cup.

And the other hand, my DS (who has high-fonctioning autism) has loads of routines and obsessions. And these routines lasted /are still lasting for months and months.

I think with regards to OCD or ASD obssessions, it is much more pronounced than in the typical toddler.

I thought this was normal toddler behaviour. It's a way of having a small amount of control in a world where they have very little.

In our house all the 'boy' teddies have to sit on one shelf and all the 'girl' teddies have to sit on another shelf. You CAN'T mix them up. It's difficult because I can;t always remember which are the boys and which are girls

She was obsessed with colours for a while in the same way and wanted matching colours together. Now it's less about colours and more about gender

She used to get upset if you didn't do things in a certain order - ie. brush her teeth, wash her face, and then brush her hair. Always in that order - you can't mix it up or the world ends apparently.

She's not so bad now she's 3.5 - it peaked when she was 2.5ish

Toddlers can have obsessions, but the difference is in how they deal with someone going against their routine or interrupting the obsessive behaviour.
If they can be easily distracted in a couple of minutes then fine - most children are probably like this. If, on the other hand, they go into complete uncontrollable rage or extreme distress which lasts for half an hour or more, then this is something different.( IMO)

yes a toddler can have OCD (or asd or both), but it can also be normal for a toddler to have OCD type behaviours for while.
There is usually only a problem if the phase lasts, if it starts to interupt & control daily life etc.
If your dd can be easily distracted away from the OCD type behaviour by something else she likes doing and if there is nothing else about her behaviour that concerns you then chances are she is just an average toddler who likes an orderly house!