OCD in children,anyone else going through it?

[poshwellies]

Ds had a appointment with CAMHS last week and keyworker said ds has ocd coupled with high anxiety (and possible aspergers traits).

DH an I are finding it bloody tough atm-ds's obsessions aren't too bad at the moment,it tends to be on his anxious days that 'his worries' kick in (this means he hardly eats or drinks and can't sleep-bedtime is now after 10.30pm and then he usually co-sleeps).

His mind is overdrive and we are trying to cope rationally.

Am doing a obsessional diary for CAMHS and we are due back for another appointment next week so am happy ds is getting all the support he can medically.

We are just exhausted as parents .I wondered if there any other parents coping with it too?

Ds is 6 yrs old (7 in a few months).

Not going through it ATM Poshwellies but did go through it when DS2 was 6! DS2 had bad contamination fears (lots of hand washing etc.)and some other bizarre fears such as poisonous mushrooms and sharp knives. It didn't last for ever though, it went away over the school holidays as we both had a chance to tackle it using a homegrown mixture of stories and CBT, by the time his CAMHS appointment came up he was OK again.
There is a book available called (I think) "What to do when your brain gets stuck" it is one of a series (I have a couple of them they are vg.) of CBT workbooks for kids, I would try it if DS2's problem reoccurred but you will probably get similar help from CAMHS.
I think DS2's ability to use logic to deal with his fears kicked in at about the age of your DS and he was much more able to handle his fears himself (after initial help from us). He "got" it quickly and is fine now.
DS2 is 8 and has a verbal DX of mild Asperger's.
Now if I can just deal with DS1's obsessional intolerance of DS2's remaining quirks (frequent nose-picking and little grunty coughs) then life would be much calmer all round (we are 4 weeks into the school holidays here and its been raining a lot...sigh).
Good luck.

Hi Poshwellies,
Pre ASD dx ds2 was given the dx of OCD& anxiety.
He still has the OCD dx & tbh the OCD part of his autism is the most difficult to cope with & you are right, the more anxious the more tho OCD kicks in, I guess its his was of coping.
DS2 is 6.5 but when he was first dx at about 3.5 I was told that it was extrememly unusual to dx in a preschool child.
The good news is that there are all sorts of strategies & therapies that are proven to work with OCD.
DS2 has improved as his understanding & language has improved.
Structure is definatly the key for us (which is ahrd as i'm not naturally organised) as long as he knows what is happening when its kind of manageble.
But you are right bloody exhausting.

not got a kid with OCD, but have had OCD on and off since I was 8, so know a little about the subject. As others have said, there are some very good self-help cbt workbooks available. I am not familiar with books geared at children, but I think the excellent OCD Workbook by Hyman and Pedrick has a brief section relevant to children with OCD. The Maudsley has a good website too:-

ocdyouth.iop.kcl.ac.uk/

you may also want to look at the nice website, as it has guidelines for treatment of OCD, I imagine that first line treatment would the same (CBT) as it is for adults.

I think that knowing one has OCD (I didn't get a DX till I was 18) is helpful - as you realise there is a reason for being so stressed out by little things - I just thought I was a bad person.

J is having CBT with clinical psych at CAMHS for OCD and autism obsessions/ routines. Tis very good.

Thanks for all your input and the link TC.

Having a few bad days with ds,OCD has really kicked in along with some HUGE meltdowns.

We have a CAMHS appointment tomorrow,so hoping for more help and support from that.

I have a 12 yr old girl who was diagnosed with OCD (finally) in Jan and has been having CBT since. She has always been "odd"- hated parties, balloons, toddler groups and had great separation anxiety. In the last year, she got very upset and angry if her nighttime rituals were interupted- a 2 hour prayer, hand washing, glasses of water. Was not happy on sleepovers, doing anything out of the ordinary. For 2 years she refused to eat "unhealthy" ie biscuits, chocolate etc in case she was sick- has a fear of other children being sick. She got very thin- she's 5ft 4 and only six and a half stones.
The CBT has helped- we had a wonderful young doctor, and after 6 months, she no longer says the prayer, eats all sorts.
BUT!!!! she has lots of tics- latest one is headbobbing, and we have just got back from a holiday which was ruined because of her fear of being in an unknown place, eating at different times etc. She physically attacks her younger brother and displays very bad behaviour- at school she is an angel, and very well regarded by staff. I think the strain of keepibng her ocd in at school just becomes too much at home.
Life is such a strain as a family- causes rows, it is tense, and I feel we cannot do anything out of the ordinary because she will react badly.
Unfortunately her dr has left and we have a review appointment in September, but I get the feeling the NHS thinks she is "cured" so want her out of the system.
I worry about her future- I feel she could be depressive- she does self harm if she is very angry, and that she is very vulnerable. I look at other children and wish she was "normal"- but then read some of the posts on here and know I have a much easier life than some.
This is my first post on Mn- I have "lurked" for months (my guilty pleasure) - but felt moved to post today.

Welcome to MN Deaddei

I'm sorry you are going through it too with your dd

How are you finding the CBT?

Ds isn't so much into rituals (No handwashing as of yet) but he is pre occupied about being contaminated-ie from food and fluids.We have also noticed he has begun to pray for things too or if he prays it means everything will be 'right'.

He just says he can't stop thinking about bad things and its going around and around in his head all day.

On a OCD scale of 10,ds is probably about a 6 as we do have 'normalish' days but I can see how his behaviour has changed in the last 6 months and how his routines/quirks are gradually taking over our lives.

6 months ago he would quibble about clothing textures first thing in the morning,for maybe 10-15 minutes and now,his refusal of getting dressed can go on for over a hour or more on a bad day.

I'm worried about how this is effecting his weight and growth as he looks painfully thin atm.

Do keep posting deaddei!

Thanks poshwellies for the welcome!
CBT has been good- as I said the doctor was young, funky and really engaged with dd. Told her quite bluntly she would probably always have it, and new rituals could replace old ones, but it could be managed.
She suggested doing things out of comfort zone eg not cleaning teeth one night- nothing awful happens- having 2 buns instead of one- nobody's sick.
It's hard not to feel guilty- is it mine or dh's fault-we both have depression in the family. The worry is that it will develop into something more as she gets older, and that friendships will be affected.
Having said that, she excels at sport, singing (has just passed grade 3 singing with distinction)and everyone thinks she's lovely! Which makes me feel horrible that I think such negative things about her, and sometimes wish she lived elsewhere if we've had a really bad day.

Just posting after yet another holiday. The days before going, dd very subdued, and the night before sobbed and sobbed- she just didn't want to go away from home and we had to practically bundle her in the car. This is a new side of her ocd, and very upsetting, as for the first couple of days she was miserable and badly behaved, which affected everyone.
She said that to her a holiday was a punishment- she wanted to be at home.(or school) I think we'll be rethinking holidays in the future- what is the point of spending a lot of money on something which makes her (and us) unhappy?. We actually cut the week down to 4 days (due partly to weather), which was a bit more manageable.
At home she can see her friends, go off cycling/swimming- she is a different girl. (but still head bobbing!)