15 year old son resisting treatment

[Guest guest]

I am new to group. I have OCD. I'm a checker. Medication has helped

me tremendously with checking but I still have thoughts which

trouble me. I feel guilty for thinking certain thoughts.

My son is 15. His issue is contamination. He's a hand washer. His

symtoms are not severe. If you'd didn't live with him you wouldn't

know he had a problem. It's not that he spends hours in the

bathroom. He does take 1/2 hour showers and washes his hands when

there doesn't seem to be any reason to be washing them. He puts a

piece of paper over the mouse when he sits down at the computer. I

could go on but he definitely has OCD. He was diagnosed with it when

he was 11. It went away but seemed to come back when he entered

hight school.

Our concern is that he doesn't think he has a problem. We took him

to a therapist who told us that she couldn't help him because he

wouldn't open up to her. He won't even talk to us about it. It's a

very uncomfortable subject for him. It does affect him. We went to a

parent teacher conference and his social studies teacher said she

doesn't know how he's going to make it through college boards

because he's so slow when taking tests. Does anyone have any

suggestions for getting him to treatment? Know of any books, etc

that deal with this? Or simply good books about parenting a teenager

who has OCD.

Thank you

Sheila

Pittsburgh

Sheila

Pittsburgh

[Guest guest]

I have some similar challenges with my 14 y/o son.

Mine is willing to read selected sections of OCD books

that I give him and emails from this group and the

teen group that I forward to his computer. Maybe you

could try this because it might not feel so

confrontational to him. It's a rebellious time of

life so our psychologist suggested being careful not

to make it an issue to rebel about.

We can't do much unless they want to help themselves.

We can make sure we're not enabling while still

holding some of the reigns tho.

Lynn

--- smac31416 <elmccall@...> wrote:

---------------------------------

I am new to group. I have OCD. I'm a checker.

Medication has helped

me tremendously with checking but I still have

thoughts which

trouble me. I feel guilty for thinking certain

thoughts.

My son is 15. His issue is contamination. He's a hand

washer. His

symtoms are not severe. If you'd didn't live with him

you wouldn't

know he had a problem. It's not that he spends hours

in the

bathroom. He does take 1/2 hour showers and washes his

hands when

there doesn't seem to be any reason to be washing

them. He puts a

piece of paper over the mouse when he sits down at the

computer. I

could go on but he definitely has OCD. He was

diagnosed with it when

he was 11. It went away but seemed to come back when

he entered

hight school.

Our concern is that he doesn't think he has a problem.

We took him

to a therapist who told us that she couldn't help him

because he

wouldn't open up to her. He won't even talk to us

about it. It's a

very uncomfortable subject for him. It does affect

him. We went to a

parent teacher conference and his social studies

teacher said she

doesn't know how he's going to make it through college

boards

because he's so slow when taking tests. Does anyone

have any

suggestions for getting him to treatment? Know of any

books, etc

that deal with this? Or simply good books about

parenting a teenager

who has OCD.

Thank you

Sheila

Pittsburgh

Sheila

Pittsburgh

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[Guest guest]

Hi again Sheila,

With therapy and my son, well, we couldn't find a therapist in our

area. He was around 11.5 when this all began, 6th grade. Now at

age 17, I think he would be more talkative if in therapy. I did

have him see one psychologist who I didn't feel quite " understood "

his OCD but I wanted someone else for him to report to about it

all. He would more or less not talk and say things were

going " fine. "

takes a long time in the bathroom also. I think he just

stands in the shower! He has said he relaxes while in there. I do

think he's slower about things too, due to his OCD.

He also wasn't " up " to doing homework until around 8 p.m. We had

good & bad nights with schoolwork. When it all began, we had to set

up a 504 Plan at school for him. And at that time even writing was

hard for him, getting a pencil to feel " just right " in his hand, the

right time/feeling to write or something. Anyway, ended up with me

doing the writing for him at home, we had that in his Plan. He was

fine with dictating to me what to write. He couldn't read either,

so I read everything to him. Whew, glad that's long past and he's

better now!

I do tell him to be out of the bathroom in 30 minutes. Though I

haven't actually timed him. He's in there less than an hour I know,

but might be a bit longer than 30 minutes. We all share a bathroom

(me, 3 sons) and usually ask others if they need the bathroom before

we shower, etc. So when asks, I tell him to be " out " in 30

minutes. He had been staying too long in there sometimes, long

enough that I noticed anyway. But since I've been on him about " 30

minutes " he says he'll try and he's out in less than an hour I

know.

Well, hang in there! And keep venting here, it DOES help on hard

days!

>

>

> Hi

>

> I didn't face my OCD until I was 35 years old. After my son was

born

> the OCD was really bad. Believe it or not I had never heard of

OCD. I

> guess I just thought it was me and was ashamed of it.

>