OCD behaviour? 10 year old

[Cofeeandagoodbook]

My ds 10 has tonight broken down and told me he is repeating actions and phases though out the day constantly. He feels funny if he doesn’t do it and can’t relax until he has. He wants to stop but can’t. He’s so sad and is desperate to stop. I noticed this about 2 years ago but hadn’t seen him do it for a long while. He’s said it’s never stopped he just hides it better.

could this be ocd? He has a diagnosis of adhd and autism

It does sound like it, and it commonly overlaps with ADHD and autism. It's so good that he's felt able to tell you and stop hiding it. In the short term, I would recommend a book called "What to do when you're brain gets stuck", see if the content feels familiar to him and if any of the strategies help. Could you seel support from the school SENDCo, maybe the can support referral to a relevant service in your area?

Sudden onset OCD merits getting PANDAs ruled out. Some GPs are more aware of this condition than others.

Aside from that, definitely a good plan to see GP asap

Thank you

we have had a GP appointment and been referred to the local mental health support team. Who will carry out a wellbeing assessment to understand anxiety and low mood. I’m a bit worried we are on the wrong pathway, but maybe this is the first step of the triage? Does anyone know if this sounds usual?

I think GP is a good first step they’ll hopefully be able to refer you to the relevant services if the ones you haven’t been referred to are not correct. Its really good he has told you, maybe speak to his teacher and see if they have noticed anything? They should be able to work with you.

Good luck OP xx

I'm not sure the NHS will come through for you. Can you afford private therapy ? I've had OCD since I was a teen and I think if I had had early therapy it would have really benefitted my life. It started with fearing I had stepped on a needle while walking and has HIV, now it's mostly just germs and washing my hands a lot

Oh gosh that sounds very reminiscent of my fears when I was younger @ThatFairy i have thought it might be ocd though.

we could possibly afford something private but I am fairly resentful of having to (although i know big picture is getting my child help). We have had to pay for the adhd and asd assessment (£3k), occupational therapy assessment for hyper mobility, occupational therapy for sensory challenges and am also funding speech and language for social challenges.

id also hoped we could just get him some specific useful help rather than 4 1 hour sessions about managing his emotions. Which he already has sessions on at SALT.

Argh just want to offer a handhold for you and ds. Had ocd since I was 6 (that I remember) still do my weird blinky thing now. When I was a kid it was blinking, turning light switches on and off, getting in and out of bed 6 times before I could sleep. Now its intrusive thoughts, door checking, worrying I accidentally ran someone or something over. If you can get him help now I hope it can prevent it escalating when hes older. I never told anyone so great hes told you. He will be fine either way and will learn ways to cope but I just hope he doesn't end up with the obsessive thoughts. Rituals is annoying but manageable.

If the OCD came on suddenly I would get him tested for Strep A. You can have Strep A without realising and in a minority of cases it can lead to PANDAs. The chances are small but if it is this then a few CAMHS sessions are going to do very little to help.

Both DS13 and I have OCD. He was diagnosed at age 8, had some CBT through CAMHS which sort of helped but he was really a bit young to engage with it effectively.

He's also since been diagnosed with autism. A lot of his OCD behaviours are anxiety related and it's far worse when he's tired. We're waiting for another round of CBT.

Hopefully you can get support from the GP but in the meantime I can highly recommend this book, worth reading it together, really helped DS feel less alone: www.amazon.co.uk/When-See-Blue-Lily-Bailey/dp/1510109803

Thank you for all of the replies. They are really helpful.

I feel confident it isn’t sudden onset, he has had symptoms which is though might be tics or anxiety driven rituals since he was 6. They come and go, and I think dependent on what they are, some are more obvious than others.

who would be able to assess if it is ocd? I’ve had a look on the nhs page but it doesn’t say
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/overview/#:~:text=refer%20yourself%20directly%20to%20an,without%20proper%20treatment%20and%20support.

I am feeling quite protective of him not having therapies that aren’t going to help or are going to make him feel he is weird. he is very clear he wants help to stop the need to do the rituals.

Hello - I thought easier to add to the old thread than stat another. We have been referred to the local mental health team who work with children on understanding strengths and challenges, goal setting and tools boxes of strategies. Does this sound right?