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Child mental health

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ocd In 8 year old?

4 replies

rainydaysfun1 · 03/11/2024 22:47

My dd8 has changed since the school year began and she had to join a new class. Assuming there is a link there but with mental health it’s hard to know for sure. It started with her tapping the tap 10 times, saying she just feels she “has” to. This passed with me doing my best to ignore it, and things got better but they’ve come again this week with her getting very upset saying she needs to say her prayers in order each night but she keeps getting lost with them and having to start over and she’s exhausted. We don’t pray as a family so this is definitely something she has decided herself, and I’m doing my best to reassure her nothing bad will happen if she doesn’t “complete” the prayers.
other than this she’s always had some sensory issues around clothes but it’s worsened lately and as she only likes shorts and bare legs the Colder weather has proved hard for her and many activities / play dates have been cancelled as she sits crying refusing to get dressed, in between these awful moments she’s happy and settled for the most part, however she had a rare outburst at school last week shouting at her teacher who she felt was being unfair to another pupil which is so unlike her (normally she’s quiet as a mouse in school). I just feel lost and know the go would likely refer to CAMHS but it’s a 2 year waiting list here to be seen and I cant afford anything private ☹️

OP posts:
springtulips1 · 21/11/2024 22:20

A long shot is your child’s school an MHST (mental health support team) school? Lots of schools are and parents aren’t always aware. If so, they can offer low intensity CBT in school. There may be something similar in the community, worth a google. It varies from area to area so hard to advise more specifically.

imip · 22/11/2024 06:29

My children have OCD traits, they are both autistic and it started around the ages of 11 and moving to secondary. CAMHS said they couldn’t diagnose one with autism, but the other is likely to get a diagnosis of OCD also. This is strange as they said for so long they won’t diagnose it as it’s to do with the rituals of autism.

You need to get referred to CAMHS despite the waiting list, and maybe read up on autism also and see if you think it’s helpful to explore.

Does she say she needs to do these things for a reason? My first dd did it to create good luck. My other dd says it is so someone in the family does not die.

Theunamedcat · 22/11/2024 06:34

Find strategies to cope with it like the prayer thing, find shorter prayers, and get on the waiting list for help

I went through this as a very stressed child we would walk a different route to school because I had to step in "twos," and it was impossible to be even on one path and the other was more suitable made my life less stressful

Never did get help with it my parents don't believe in mental health support

BananaPie · 22/11/2024 06:41

This book offers a good programme. Our local CAHMS works with parents to implement similar strategies rather than seeing the kids direct anyway so worth trying yourself while you are on the waiting list.
https://amzn.eu/d/2UHlXLr "Breaking free of Child Anxiety and OCD"

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