Re: To Kathy : young child

[Guest guest]

Dear Kathy R.,

When I read your posts I get goosebumps - I swear you were raising MY daughter, not yours. The development of clothing issues parallels Annie's EXACTLY. Unbelievable. AND just yesterday I decided to ask Annie's doctor to give my phone number out also, because I'm so tired of not knowing any people here who deal with this. It seems so ridiculous to know that this doctor is treating lots of kids with OCD and yet we don't know each other. Let me know how it works for you.

[Guest guest]

Kathy and ,

Sounds like you both are dealing with a young child with OCD as am I. My son is 4 years old and has serious issues with clothing,socks, shoes, underwear etc. I am also having a hard time dealing with this as I can't seem to find anyone with a young child to talk with. Jake has some real good days, however when it's bad I go back and forth from frustration to tears. It is always helpful to have someone who "is there" or has been there.

[Guest guest]

Dear Lexy,

Having a four year old with OCD is the pits - but it will get better. Four year olds are tough anymore, and MANY of them have clothing issues at that age. But throw OCD into the picture and it's unbelievably difficult. Feel free to vent anytime - you're quite right about how hard and lonely it is. Just having support helps. I know you've said this (sorry) but is your son on any medication or in therapy? Both will help tremendously with the clothing issues, in my experience. Hang in there - the beginning of the fight is the hardest. Annie was just like your son 4 years ago, and now, on the brink of turning 9, her only clothing issues are that I won't let her wear the sleazy, Britney Spears-clone clothing she likes to school! Stay in touch!

in Nevada

[Guest guest]

Hmmm, and it's my 5 yr. old son who has the clothing issues now (worse at age four though). He still wants to wear sweatpants and turtlenecks all the time (and we live in NEVADA), or sometimes very old worn-out t-shirts. He wore a fleece balaclava to preschool in PA for an entire year (he was scared of the volunteer fire department whistle and liked his ears covered) as well as rubber boots for TWO YEARS. This next week he starts kindergarten and I have told him he can wear whatever he wants three days a week, the other two I get to pick. I don't want him to avoid blue jeans forever, and I'm tired of all the clothes that I buy but he won't even put on. We'll see how that goes. With Annie, the OCDer, I let her choose her clothes all along - I guess I'm getting less patient in my old age.

[Guest guest]

Well, Kathy and , this is where the triplets separate, I'm afraid. Avery has a few sensory issues but it's my oldest, Ian, who's always been the real sensory issue kid. He will only wear elastic waist pants or shorts, I have to cut most tags out of shirts, I had to get seamless socks, I have to tie his shoes (at age 10 1/2 !) to get the right tightness, etc. He is very sensitive to light, noise, and smells. He still sleeps with a special blankie (don't tell anyone) and often walks around the house with it wrapped around his head. Through therapy he has overcome some of his symmetry issues and evening up behaviors. I tried to get OT therapy from the school but couldn't convince them. They didn't feel it was interfering with his education. Sigh...

in TX

Re: To Kathy : young child

Dear Kathy R., When I read your posts I get goosebumps - I swear you were raising MY daughter, not yours. The development of clothing issues parallels Annie's EXACTLY. Unbelievable.

[Guest guest]

Jake has been in CBT for a few months. I definitely think it has been helpful not only to him but to myself and my husband as well. We have come to better understand the OCD monster and how he operates. The first therapist we saw thought he should be immediately medicated and that worried me. I wanted to try everything else first. There may come a day when Jake needs meds, but, I don't think that time is here yet. I hope he can get OCD under control with CBT. Sometimes I get frustrated because I don't know how much of the behavior is OCD and how much is his age. We do have an OT consult to address the sensory issues which are a huge part of Jakes issues. He is so sensitive in strange ways. You can bump him real hard and get no reaction, however brush by him lightly and it's like he was hit by a train.

He starts preschool in two weeks. Any ideas on how to deal with the clothing issue. He will newver wear long sleeves, and likes to wear the same thing over and over.

Thanks

[Guest guest]

her only

clothing issues are that I won't let her wear the sleazy, Britney

Spears-clone clothing she likes to school!

Hold tight, it gets worse ;-). Ava told me I was an "old school ass....teroid"

yesterday morning because I wouldn't let her wear a pair of daisy dukes

to school. I take it as a compliment. I'm doing my job.

And she's doing hers - testing the limits at 13 is part of the territory.

These are the things we should be disagreeing on! It's so much

easier than arguing with OCD I almost welcome these battles. I remember

when she was 4 and couldn't wear socks, would only wear a bathing suit,

refused to wear a coat......sensory issues are awful to deal with mixed

with OCD.

Dana in NC

[Guest guest]

xslav@... wrote:

Hmmm, and it's my 5 yr. old son who has the clothing issues now (worse at age four though). He still wants to wear sweatpants and turtlenecks all the time (and we live in NEVADA), or sometimes very old worn-out t-shirts. He wore a fleece balaclava to preschool in PA for an entire year (he was scared of the volunteer fire department whistle and liked his ears covered) as well as rubber boots for TWO YEARS. This next week he starts kindergarten and I have told him he can wear whatever he wants three days a week, the other two I get to pick. I don't want him to avoid blue jeans forever, and I'm tired of all the clothes that I buy but he won't even put on. We'll see how that goes. With Annie, the OCDer, I let her choose her clothes all along - I guess I'm getting less patient in my old age.

Ah, yes, the old preschool clothing issues!!!! Tommy would only wear what he called his "slob shirts - flannel shirts, never tucked in) even in 95 degree heat! He, to this day does not want to wear shoes, but he will when he absolutely must. Recently we went school shoe shopping and I had to give him advance notice of the trip beginning 2 weeks prior to the trip, with daily reminders, and his behavior the day of the shopping trip was atrocious! He wanted to keep the same pair of sneakers that he had been wearing since last spring. His foot had grown an entire size, and even that was not enough to make the purchase of new sneakers a comfortable thing. I will say, though that these issues have gotten at least workable since his medication and cbt have taken hold. There was a time that putting socks on became a physical struggle and I wanted to run away from home every morning. His schools have always been pretty strict about appropriate foot coverings and he now knows that he must wear sneakers to school or he will have to sit out gym class. He had to sit out a few times in first and second grade and so far he has not fussed too much about wearing sneakers since then. Now that he is older, I do try to strongly encourage him to wear sneakers some of the time, sandals some of the time, and dress shoes to church. This summer he wore his dress shoes with no socks and a pair of shorts to church! He looked really silly, and requested that he wear sandals and he refused, so I just figured that he was making a fashion statement and left it at that. I wonder what the teen years are going to bring? in Southeastern PA

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