What the early warning signs of OCD?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/21/2006 6:02:37 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

mamma.mia01@... writes:

I'm worried that my daughter (and her cousin too) may be developing

OCD. What are some of the early warning signs? And, does anyone know

how young a child can be be diagnosed with OCD?

Mia

OCD can take on many different forms of symptoms. Praying, checking,

apologizing, washing, worrying, bad thoughts. What is your child (and her

cousin)

doing that makes you feel they might have OCD? I've read posts on this board

that talk about kids as young as just a few years old being diagnosed with

OCD - others have realized that their child has had it for YEARS and they

never knew it until it was diagnosed at the age of 8, 9, 10 or older.

What exactly is your daughter's situation? Have you read any posts on the

board that might seem familiar to you - similar to what you're daughter is

going through?

LT

[Guest guest]

I'm worried that my daughter (and her cousin too) may be developing

OCD. What are some of the early warning signs? And, does anyone know

how young a child can be be diagnosed with OCD?

-Mia

[Guest guest]

Mia,

My son was diagnosed at age 4, but I have heard of children being diagnosed

younger.It really depends on the doctor. Some will not diagnose until the child

is older because they say that you really don't know what is going on in such a

young child's head. The doctor my son now sees will not diagnose him with ocd.

He has put anxiety nos as his diagnosis, even though he realizes he has it.

Judy

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/22/2006 5:55:49 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

mamma.mia01@... writes:

Now, my daughter has started to do some of the same things but I'm not

sure if she is just mimicing Jenni or if she too is starting to show

signs of OCD. I have thought about taking her to the doctor but is

there really any reliable test for OCD? I always thought that you

just " knew " .

Mia

How much time does your daughter spend with her cousin? Have you ever asked

your daughter WHY she does the things she does? That might be a start. If

she spends a lot of time (daily) with her cousin, maybe she is just mimicking

her. Have you spoken with the parents of her cousin? What do they think?

Who started the behavior first - your daughter or theirs?

LT

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the replies. I am pretty sure that my daughter's cousin,

Jenni, has OCD. She is totally obsessed with neatness. When she make a

drawing, it always ends up with holes it from all the eraser marks

(trying to make everything perfect). She also has a tendancy to get a

phrase stuck in her head and repeat it over and over again for

sometimes as long as half-an-hour.

Now, my daughter has started to do some of the same things but I'm not

sure if she is just mimicing Jenni or if she too is starting to show

signs of OCD. I have thought about taking her to the doctor but is

there really any reliable test for OCD? I always thought that you

just " knew " .

-Mia

>

>

> I'm worried that my daughter (and her cousin too) may be developing

> OCD. What are some of the early warning signs? And, does anyone know

> how young a child can be be diagnosed with OCD?

>

> -Mia

>

[Guest guest]

I'm coming into this a little late I think but wanted to respond since my

youngest daughter was practically born with OCD. She came out of the womb

completely aware if I wasn't the one holding her. She had difficulty sleeping

starting at about six months and did not separate from me well at all. She

would

cry when I left her and would continue to cry the entire time I was gone. She

was very fearful of unusual things like the furnace. She also did not want to

sleep in her room, even if I was with her. She also held in her bowel

movements. The last two are things that the doctor saw as pretty big signs that

she

had some sort of anxiety disorder. By the time she was about five, she told

us about " hearing things " and about " seeing things. " These things were her

own thoughts but they frightened her. She also started to count to herself all

the time and would count the sides of her hands after she made a fist. She

would also touch her nose repeatedly. She was very sensitive about clothing and

refused to wear many things. Socks, pants, and shoes were especially

difficult. She could not stand for strangers to talk to her and would try to

scare

them away by making " big " noises. Oh, looking back, she was so fun. I'm happy

to say that , thirteen, uses the bathroom just fine, sleeps alone and

doesn't scream at anyone but me now. Kelley in NV

[Guest guest]

Children can have obsessive-like behaviors and perfectionism without OCD. My

daughter wants her pictures " just so " and re-does alot and erases alot, but she

does not have OCD. I also do not have OCD, but I am a perfectionist and that

causes me anxiety (when things aren't perfect ...like my house, projects, etc.).

It seems strange that if your daughter did have OCD that it would come out in

the exact same symptoms as her cousin. What are your daughter's emotions when

she is erasing?

My son, 11, who does have OCD is also a perfectinist. Last year he would

write and erase his schoolwork over and over, especially if he had something

like a state writing test - but that was not his OCD coming out either - just

his perfectionism. He thought his penmanship was not neat enough. We worked

through it and now he doesn't do that anymore.

I, too, think you would learn alot by asking her why she is doing this.

jtlt@... wrote:

In a message dated 10/22/2006 5:55:49 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

mamma.mia01@... writes:

Now, my daughter has started to do some of the same things but I'm not

sure if she is just mimicing Jenni or if she too is starting to show

signs of OCD. I have thought about taking her to the doctor but is

there really any reliable test for OCD? I always thought that you

just " knew " .

Mia

How much time does your daughter spend with her cousin? Have you ever asked

your daughter WHY she does the things she does? That might be a start. If

she spends a lot of time (daily) with her cousin, maybe she is just mimicking

her. Have you spoken with the parents of her cousin? What do they think?

Who started the behavior first - your daughter or theirs?

LT

[Guest guest]

I might have missed her age, if you stated it, but want to say that

many young kids (early elementary, etc.) will go thru phases like

this.

As to if it's OCD, I think that if she's getting anxious about it or

getting to the point of tears trying to get it " right, " or it's

something she *has* to do and gets teary or shows frustration/anger,

if saying the phrase is driving her a bit " crazy " (she hates doing

it), then I'd lean towards possible OCD. However, with OCD I also

think it's got to be something that has become a problem, is getting

disruptive, making the person unhappy (don't like doing it, thinking

it...), it's interfering in ways, etc.

Quick thoughts!

>

>

>

> Thanks for the replies. I am pretty sure that my daughter's cousin,

> Jenni, has OCD. She is totally obsessed with neatness. When she

[Guest guest]

My dd was dx at 4 1/2, but looking back, I saw signs much earlier, just didnt

know. She worried, washed hands, needed reassurance, counted things, etc.

Sharon

What the early warning signs of OCD?

I'm worried that my daughter (and her cousin too) may be developing

OCD. What are some of the early warning signs? And, does anyone know

how young a child can be be diagnosed with OCD?

-Mia

[Guest guest]

my 7 year old has ocd and when the rituals first started my 5 and 3

year olds were copy cats - however I explained her brain was playing

tricks and they should be happy they don't have to deal so to stop it

-they could so they did (big difference)! good luck

eileen

Quoting Mia <mamma.mia01@...>:

>

>

> Thanks for the replies. I am pretty sure that my daughter's cousin,

> Jenni, has OCD. She is totally obsessed with neatness. When she make a

> drawing, it always ends up with holes it from all the eraser marks

> (trying to make everything perfect). She also has a tendancy to get a

> phrase stuck in her head and repeat it over and over again for

> sometimes as long as half-an-hour.

>

> Now, my daughter has started to do some of the same things but I'm not

> sure if she is just mimicing Jenni or if she too is starting to show

> signs of OCD. I have thought about taking her to the doctor but is

> there really any reliable test for OCD? I always thought that you

> just " knew " .

>

> -Mia

>

>

>

>

>

>>

>>

>> I'm worried that my daughter (and her cousin too) may be developing

>> OCD. What are some of the early warning signs? And, does anyone know

>> how young a child can be be diagnosed with OCD?

>>

>> -Mia

>>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/23/2006 5:42:31 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

mamma.mia01@... writes:

I am going to read through some of the

messages here and see if I can get a better understanding of OCD. I have

to admit that I don't really know that much about it.

Mia

Go to the website _www.OCFoundation.org_ (http://www.OCFoundation.org) and

do some reading there. It's an excellent resource.

LT

[Guest guest]

Wow, thanks for the responses.

I have to say that much of the OCD behaviors described here fit with

Jenni perfectly but not so much with my daughter, (who is 5 YO).

I, of course, have spoken to her about this but she either refuses to

answer or simply says " I don't know " .

She doesn't seem particularly stressed by any of it but she only started

showing " signs " about 2 weeks ago. Maybe, that's coming next?

For those who asked, sees Jenni a couple of hours a day, 2-3

times a week. Which has been going on for over a year now. This is the

first time I have ever seen mimic Jenni (that I can think of).

It does seem strange to me that they have the same obsessions though. I

guess I am probably over-reacting... I will just have to keep an eye on

her for a while and see.

Thanks for all the replies! I am going to read through some of the

messages here and see if I can get a better understanding of OCD. I have

to admit that I don't really know that much about it.

-Mia

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the tip!

I'm going to check it out right now.

Mia

Free Family & Parenting Books

<http://www.freefamilybooks.com/index.php?rp=6>

>

>

> In a message dated 10/23/2006 5:42:31 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

> mamma.mia01@... writes:

>

> I am going to read through some of the

> messages here and see if I can get a better understanding of OCD. I

have

> to admit that I don't really know that much about it.

>

>

> Mia

>

> Go to the website _www.OCFoundation.org_ (http://www.OCFoundation.org)

and

> do some reading there. It's an excellent resource.

> LT

>

>

>