Re: New to list

[Guest guest]

Hi

I'm fairly new year but wanted to welcome you. So far i've listened more than

anything. Like any dx you are fortunate to get an early start. The other's

have offered excellent advise.

The meds thing can take a while to have an effect. Having been a bit of a

veteran about meds having three kids on them i can tell you it can be

difficult. Sometimes you are lucky can get the right med and the right dose

quickly.

Often it can take time to get the right med and the right dose. It can be a

challenging time. I don't want to scare you. I just want to prepare you if

need be. I wish someone would have prepared me better having gone through it

with my kids.

In anycase what ever it takes it is well worth it.

My son showed signs of OCD when he was very little lining up his cars etc. We

thought it was very cute and neat. I don't mean neat like cool.

Regards, Dave

[Guest guest]

Hi Deb, welcome! I have a 13 y/o son with OCD, he was diagnosed

almost 2 years ago. That was pretty much when his OCD became

unmanageable, but he'd always had some minor behaviors all his life;

they just didn't really interfere with the day-to-day stuff at that

time. Lots of parents in this group have kids that were diagnosed at

a young age or at least had the OCD behaviors.

A good source for info is the OCD Foundation website. There address,

I believe is http://www.ocfoundation.org

There you can find out info about cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

and exposure & response prevention (ERP or E & RP). Those are the best

treatments for OCD. Medications help too, of course! It can take up

to around 6 weeks or so for medication to start really taking effect

but you might notice improvement sooner, medications vary so much

from individual-to-individual. You should also try to find a good

therapist experienced with OCD and who uses CBT and ERP.

Unfortunately, I live in an area where there's no one close by who we

can see, so we sort of just treat it on our own. Oh, and there's lots

of great books about OCD listed on the above website too, and books

for kids also.

What kind of OCD behaviors/compulsions does your son have? You also

mentioned autism and ADHD, do those also apply to your son?

Structure is needed with autistic kids a lot.

My 13 y/o, , has compulsions or rituals where he has to do

things to " keep something bad from happening to him " and also has

said he has to do something until it " feels right. " Also he seems to

have problems with certain doorways (going thru them). He used to do

the on/off bit several times with switches (light, video games, etc.)

but that seems to have passed.

Gotta go, but hope to hear lots more from you!

- single mom to , 13, with OCD and dysgraphia; 13-twin;

Randall 17 -

> I can't tell you how thankful we were to find your list. Our

little boy was

> diagnosed last week, and we found incredible amounts of information

on ADHD

> and Autism but not much on OCD, especially in children. Apparently

our son

> is quite young to be diagnosed with OCD? He is almost 3 1/2. He

has been

> showing symptoms and having problems for over a year now, so to us

the way

> he is acting is nothing new. It is however a name to what's going

on, and

> hope that we can help give him a better life. We do have a ton of

> questions, as I'm sure most parents do; and we hope to find help

and support

> through this list, and eventually to be able to offer that back to

others.

> A few quick questions...

> Are there parents on the list with children diagnosed at the age of

3 or 4

> years old? Is there any kind of therapy that's been found to be

helpful to

> children of such a young age? Any advice on how to deal with our

son in

> general - as far as distinguishing typical 3 year old type

behaviors from

> OCD - there seems to be a fine line where he will jump from being

typical to

> being OCD and really out of control. He needs a ton of structure

and gets

> much worse without it; and also needs a lot of help with

transitions, is

> this also pretty typical? He is being treated with Prozac and as

it's only

> been 1 week, no results yet... This feels like an eternity

already.....

> From what we've read this is typical???

> Thanks for any thoughts! Deb

[Guest guest]

>HI Deb and Welcome!

You have come to the right place! I think you will find many a parent

with a young child who has been diagnosed. My wife and I organize a

small group of parents of ocdrs. We meet monthly. There is currently

one member with a four yr old boy. She has been going through the

same learning curve. She has opted not to use meds just yet and is

having a VERY difficult time finding a skilled therapist to work with

her son. Play therapies are being developed (we are told), so it may

be important to explore this avenue with info. from related anxiety

disorders. Congratulations on your awareness and for your efforts in

early intervention. This is a predictor for successful treatment. And

this should relieve you with regard to worries over " will this

necessarily get worse with age? " .

Distinguishing behaviors as age appropriate or OCD inappropriate is a

huge challenge for everyone! But I am sure will find others here who

will speak to specific behaviors.

I would guess that you have been told that the meds will take a fair

while (8-12 weeks) to give therapeutic effect. What you may not have

been told is that if you notice sudden erractic " new " behaviors or

personality change.....you DON'T have to wait the 8-12 weeks. Some

SSRIs are a poor fit and the poor fit usually manifests earlier.

Changes to other child approved meds (SSRIs) are made somewhat

seamlessly. Don't be nervous about asserting yourself with DRs.

With a mom like you, your son is well on his way to good mental

health!! Thanks for sharing your story!

in Canada

I can't tell you how thankful we were to find your list. Our little

boy was

> diagnosed last week, and we found incredible amounts of information

on ADHD

> and Autism but not much on OCD, especially in children. Apparently

our son

> is quite young to be diagnosed with OCD? He is almost 3 1/2. He

has been

> showing symptoms and having problems for over a year now, so to us

the way

> he is acting is nothing new. It is however a name to what's going

on, and

> hope that we can help give him a better life. We do have a ton of

> questions, as I'm sure most parents do; and we hope to find help

and support

> through this list, and eventually to be able to offer that back to

others.

> A few quick questions...

> Are there parents on the list with children diagnosed at the age of

3 or 4

> years old? Is there any kind of therapy that's been found to be

helpful to

> children of such a young age? Any advice on how to deal with our

son in

> general - as far as distinguishing typical 3 year old type

behaviors from

> OCD - there seems to be a fine line where he will jump from being

typical to

> being OCD and really out of control. He needs a ton of structure

and gets

> much worse without it; and also needs a lot of help with

transitions, is

> this also pretty typical? He is being treated with Prozac and as

it's only

> been 1 week, no results yet... This feels like an eternity

already.....

> From what we've read this is typical???

> Thanks for any thoughts! Deb

[Guest guest]

Hi Deb,

I think I'm the resident anti-drug mom on the list. I have

learned to be more open. I recently talked with a middle aged woman who

has been on Prozac for seven years (for OCD), and this was her miracle

drug.

Perhaps it will work that way for your son. But to give prozac

to a three and a half year old! Children's brains are more vulnerable

and still developing, and this would apply even more to a child under the

age of five.

It even seems that treating childen with medicine is a lot

easier and more profitable than doing therapy. This is my particular

bias.

I also know how difficult it is to deal with a child with OCD.

(My son is 8 years old, and he is doing much better after some

ERP/cognitive therapy). I think being home from public school has also

helped a great deal. He is now asking me to take him to the pool, so I

need to go.

Two very helpful books to read are Tamar Chansky's book, " Freeing

Your Child From Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and March's book " OCD

in Children and Adolescents. "

Alyssa

On Thu, 27 Jun 2002 14:03:19 -0400 DMillard writes:

I can't tell you how thankful we were to find your list. Our little boy

was

diagnosed last week, and we found incredible amounts of information on

ADHD

and Autism but not much on OCD, especially in children. Apparently our

son

is quite young to be diagnosed with OCD? He is almost 3 1/2. He has

been

showing symptoms and having problems for over a year now, so to us the

way

he is acting is nothing new. It is however a name to what's going on,

and

hope that we can help give him a better life. We do have a ton of

questions, as I'm sure most parents do; and we hope to find help and

support

through this list, and eventually to be able to offer that back to

others.

A few quick questions...

Are there parents on the list with children diagnosed at the age of 3 or

4

years old? Is there any kind of therapy that's been found to be helpful

to

children of such a young age? Any advice on how to deal with our son in

general - as far as distinguishing typical 3 year old type behaviors from

OCD - there seems to be a fine line where he will jump from being typical

to

being OCD and really out of control. He needs a ton of structure and

gets

much worse without it; and also needs a lot of help with transitions, is

this also pretty typical? He is being treated with Prozac and as it's

only

been 1 week, no results yet... This feels like an eternity already.....

From what we've read this is typical???

Thanks for any thoughts! Deb

Our list archives, bookmarks, files, and chat feature may be accessed at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group// .

Our list advisors are Gail B. , Ed.D., Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., Aureen

Pinto Wagner, Ph.D., and Dan Geller, M.D. Our list moderators are

Birkhan, Castle, Kathy Hammes, Joye, Kathy Mac, Jule

Monnens, Gail Pesses, Kathy , Vivian Stembridge, and Jackie

Stout. Subscription issues or suggestions may be addressed to Louis

Harkins, list owner, at louisharkins@... or

louisharkins@... .

[Guest guest]

Dear Deb,

I think your son is fortunate to have you so tuned in to his

symptoms, and already being proactive when he is so young. Also,

fortunate to have a therapist aware enough of Ocd to diagnose it so

young -- from what I've heard, many write off the behaviors, thinking

that one so young could not have Ocd. Looking back, I know my

daughter had Ocd symptoms very early, but we didn't see a full-blown

flare-up (after a trauma) until age 5. Even after that, the official

Ocd diagnosis didn't come until she was 7, about a year ago.

We have been trying a lot of E/RP and CBT, but reached a point

recently when her " bad thought " symptoms were so severe that we

couldn't stand to see her suffer so much with them. I had been very

hesitant about trying medication, and had hoped to see more progress

with our therapy, but she was literally unable to function in certain

situations, and we decided to try a medication. We are only in our

second week of Prozac, so I know how you feel in the " waiting time "

to see what will happen, how effective it will be, etc. We didn't

rush into the med decision, and we have a healthy respect for the

power of these meds. We want to take it as slowly as we can, and not

rush into high doses, etc.

> Are there parents on the list with children diagnosed at the age of

3 or 4

> years old? Is there any kind of therapy that's been found to be

helpful to

> children of such a young age?

We started some therapy techniques with at age 5, not as young

as yours. I remember us working on helping her sort out what was " an

worry, a Mommy/Daddy worry, or a God worry. " We didn't

specifically tackle it as Ocd, though, because we just didn't know.

>Any advice on how to deal with our son in

> general - as far as distinguishing typical 3 year old type

>behaviors from

> OCD - there seems to be a fine line where he will jump from being

typical to

> being OCD and really out of control.

I think it's great to be aware of what really makes him fall apart,

but at the same time, don't fall into the trap of writing every

behavior off to the Ocd. In other words, don't stop normal

discipline and parenting -- your instincts will be trustworthy and

you'll begin to know the difference between when he *can't* respond

appropriately for his age (due to the ocd) and when he *won't*

respond (due to being three...) Does that make sense? It's the same

sort of trial and error, though, that much of parenting is, in my

opinion. :-)

He needs a ton of structure and gets

> much worse without it; and also needs a lot of help with

transitions, is

> this also pretty typical?

Pretty typical in my limited experience. Before the diagnosis, I

described as " highly sensitive, easily overstimulated " and

things like that. Because she always needed help with transitions

(but then so do lots of little children) I very early started using

techniques with her that I think are just some common sense and might

work well with all little kids. (Simple examples: in the store, if

I was letting her look at toys, she always knew in advance if it was

a " buying day " or " just a looking day " and when it was time to leave

the toy dept., I gave her " 1-minute warning, then it's time to tell

the stuffed dog bye-bye. " Simple, but very effective things like

that. I still think it works well for all kids to give them things

like " 5-minute warning " before having to end a playdate, leave the

swimming pool, etc. It's just an ongoing challenge to determine how

much structure is needed, vs. how much is desired.

He is being treated with Prozac and as it's only

> been 1 week, no results yet... This feels like an eternity

already.....

I know. :-) We're in waiting here, too.

There are many parents here *much* more knowledgeable than I, so stay

and ask all your questions. I have found a great deal of support

here.

Blessings,

[Guest guest]

Hi Deb, and welcome! Where do you live? Perhaps there are others on

this list from your area?

>Apparently our son is quite young to be diagnosed with OCD?

He is almost 3 1/2. He has been showing symptoms and having

problems for over a year now<

I wish my kids were diagnosed when they were younger!! My son, now 19

was showing symptoms from infancy, my 16 and 13 yr old daughters had

symptoms around 18 months. My son was 12 when finally diagnosed, the

girls were 10 and 7. Today, through cognitive behavioural therapy, a

drastic change in parenting style, and constant exposure to anxiety

provoking stimuli, only the youngest remains on medication. She is

mostly an 'obsessional' and can experience major anxiety over things

she cannot control, such as thunderstorms and terrorist attacks. She

was med free for 6 months though.

>Is there any kind of therapy that's been found to be helpful

to children of such a young age? <

Since my children were diagnosed, I have become a specialist in

treatment of ocd! I am a social worker, trained in cbt for ocd. The

youngest child I have worked with was 5 years old. We did play

together, but that was more for me to see the compulsions and to

assess them before and after identifying them as related to OCD. Most

of the therapy actualy came from the parents. My role was to teach

the parents how to recognize and react to OCD and how to encourage

the child to dismiss the manipulative nature of OCD. It did not take

many sessions as the parents were very committed and the child was

young enough to accept the change in the negative behaviours. With

someone as young as 3, I would highly recommend an experienced

therapist, and ask for references! You do not want to start and stop

with a variety of people who really dont understand the complexity of

OCD and its effect on a child.

>Any advice on how to deal with our son in general - as far

as distinguishing typical 3 year old type behaviors from

OCD - there seems to be a fine line where he will jump from

being typical to being OCD and really out of control. <

Yes, there is a difference, hard to tell sometimes, but there is!

One of the helpful ways to deal with 'out of control' behaviour is to

anticipate it, and try to prevent that behaviour from occuring, or

plan in advance what actions you will take. Diverting his attention

before a 'meltdown' will help everyone!

>He needs a ton of structure and gets much worse without it;

and also needs a lot of help with transitions, is this also

pretty typical? <

YUP! most of our kids need to know what to anticipate. They find

comfort in knowing that their days are filled and they will have less

time for OCD to interfere with their play/school. Transitions are

commonly tough. Some have difficulties stopping one activity and

starting another. For example, to help stop play to eat, you could

try giving a 5 minute warning that he will need to clean up so you

can all eat lunch, then warn him again at 3 minutes, then at 1

minute. When the warning time is up, he must stop all activity, and

clean up. This might help.

> He is being treated with Prozac and as it's only been

1 week, no results yet... <

Prozac (fluoxetine) is one of the initial medications recommended in

the Expert Consensus Guidelines for the Treatment of OCD. Today

others have been added. It really is trial and error and what works

for one may not work for another. I am sure that your prescribing

physician would not recommend medication if s/he didnt think it

necassary. You can read a copy of the Expert Guidelines in the FILE

section of our website. You can connect to that through the link at

the bottom of this page. There is also an article on Medications and

Children. Keep in mind that the first line of treatment for OCD in

children is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) using the exposure

and response prevention (ERP).

I highly recommend that you find a copy of

" Blink, Blink, Clop, Clop: Why Do We Do Things We Can't Stop? An OCD

Storybook " E.Katia Moritz, Ph.D., and Jablonsky (paperback,

61 pages, Genesis Direct, NJ, 1998) The book uses barnyard animals

who experience OCD symptoms. Its easy to follow and delightful to

read. It is available through the OCFoundations bookstore.

www.ocfoundation.org

Hope this has been helpful,

wendy birkhan, BSW; RSW; presenter at many OCD related conference on

OCD and Parenting; mom to 3 kids with OCD++ and married to one too!

______________________________________________________________________

Post your ad for free now! http://personals.yahoo.ca

[Guest guest]

,

I'm curious. Can you tell me where I can find medical studies on

prescribing prozac to 3 year olds? If in five years, they discover the

medication was prescribed inappropriately, how will they feel about their

stance today that the " doctor would not recommend medication if he/she

didn't think it was necessary? "

Isn't that like placing blind faith in the doctor's ability?

I just think it's important to be a " critical " parent when we're

making decisions about our kids developing brains.

Sincerely,

Alyssa

On Thu, 27 Jun 2002 23:27:54 -0400 (EDT) w birkhan

writes:

Hi Deb, and welcome! Where do you live? Perhaps there are others on

this list from your area?

>Apparently our son is quite young to be diagnosed with OCD?

He is almost 3 1/2. He has been showing symptoms and having

problems for over a year now<

I wish my kids were diagnosed when they were younger!! My son, now 19

was showing symptoms from infancy, my 16 and 13 yr old daughters had

symptoms around 18 months. My son was 12 when finally diagnosed, the

girls were 10 and 7. Today, through cognitive behavioural therapy, a

drastic change in parenting style, and constant exposure to anxiety

provoking stimuli, only the youngest remains on medication. She is

mostly an 'obsessional' and can experience major anxiety over things

she cannot control, such as thunderstorms and terrorist attacks. She

was med free for 6 months though.

>Is there any kind of therapy that's been found to be helpful

to children of such a young age? <

Since my children were diagnosed, I have become a specialist in

treatment of ocd! I am a social worker, trained in cbt for ocd. The

youngest child I have worked with was 5 years old. We did play

together, but that was more for me to see the compulsions and to

assess them before and after identifying them as related to OCD. Most

of the therapy actualy came from the parents. My role was to teach

the parents how to recognize and react to OCD and how to encourage

the child to dismiss the manipulative nature of OCD. It did not take

many sessions as the parents were very committed and the child was

young enough to accept the change in the negative behaviours. With

someone as young as 3, I would highly recommend an experienced

therapist, and ask for references! You do not want to start and stop

with a variety of people who really dont understand the complexity of

OCD and its effect on a child.

>Any advice on how to deal with our son in general - as far

as distinguishing typical 3 year old type behaviors from

OCD - there seems to be a fine line where he will jump from

being typical to being OCD and really out of control. <

Yes, there is a difference, hard to tell sometimes, but there is!

One of the helpful ways to deal with 'out of control' behaviour is to

anticipate it, and try to prevent that behaviour from occuring, or

plan in advance what actions you will take. Diverting his attention

before a 'meltdown' will help everyone!

>He needs a ton of structure and gets much worse without it;

and also needs a lot of help with transitions, is this also

pretty typical? <

YUP! most of our kids need to know what to anticipate. They find

comfort in knowing that their days are filled and they will have less

time for OCD to interfere with their play/school. Transitions are

commonly tough. Some have difficulties stopping one activity and

starting another. For example, to help stop play to eat, you could

try giving a 5 minute warning that he will need to clean up so you

can all eat lunch, then warn him again at 3 minutes, then at 1

minute. When the warning time is up, he must stop all activity, and

clean up. This might help.

> He is being treated with Prozac and as it's only been

1 week, no results yet... <

Prozac (fluoxetine) is one of the initial medications recommended in

the Expert Consensus Guidelines for the Treatment of OCD. Today

others have been added. It really is trial and error and what works

for one may not work for another. I am sure that your prescribing

physician would not recommend medication if s/he didnt think it

necassary. You can read a copy of the Expert Guidelines in the FILE

section of our website. You can connect to that through the link at

the bottom of this page. There is also an article on Medications and

Children. Keep in mind that the first line of treatment for OCD in

children is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) using the exposure

and response prevention (ERP).

I highly recommend that you find a copy of

" Blink, Blink, Clop, Clop: Why Do We Do Things We Can't Stop? An OCD

Storybook " E.Katia Moritz, Ph.D., and Jablonsky (paperback,

61 pages, Genesis Direct, NJ, 1998) The book uses barnyard animals

who experience OCD symptoms. Its easy to follow and delightful to

read. It is available through the OCFoundations bookstore.

www.ocfoundation.org

Hope this has been helpful,

wendy birkhan, BSW; RSW; presenter at many OCD related conference on

OCD and Parenting; mom to 3 kids with OCD++ and married to one too!

______________________________________________________________________

Post your ad for free now! http://personals.yahoo.ca

Our list archives, bookmarks, files, and chat feature may be accessed at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group// .

Our list advisors are Gail B. , Ed.D., Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., Aureen

Pinto Wagner, Ph.D., and Dan Geller, M.D. Our list moderators are

Birkhan, Castle, Kathy Hammes, Joye, Kathy Mac, Jule

Monnens, Gail Pesses, Kathy , Vivian Stembridge, and Jackie

Stout. Subscription issues or suggestions may be addressed to Louis

Harkins, list owner, at louisharkins@... or

louisharkins@... .

[Guest guest]

Deb:

Welcome!!! I'm so glad you found this list so early, it was a life saver for

me. I really don't have any new input outside what others have already given

you. My son was 6 when he was diagnosed, but looking back he showed signs

during toddlerhood. As Dave mentioned, my son at age 2 (or so) lined his cars

up until they were perfect; if they weren't perfect he'd wipe them out with his

hand in a rage. His primary issue is contamination. Starting ER & P as soon as

your son is able to is the best thing -- doing ER & P with at age 6 was a lot

easier than at his current age of 10! At age 6 he didn't refuse to do the

therapy, he did it because I told him this is what we're going to do (I tried to

make it a game). For example, he wouldn't sleep between the sheets so I would

make it a game each day to see how long he could stay between them, if he beat

the time he'd get a token reward (bite-size candy bar, sticker, etc.). The

medicine helped a lot so he was at a point where he could at least try the

therapy. He also took Prozac at first but it made him more anxious (as you will

find out, what works for one person may not work for another). I believe Luvox

comes in liquid form now too -- that worked great for .

There are many books that are helpful: " Freeing Your Child from Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder " by Tamar Chansky; " new Hope for the Family " by Greist;

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Help for Children and Adolescents by Mitzi Waltz;

OCD in Children and Adolescents: A Cognitive Behavioral Treatment by S.

March and Mulle;Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: A Complete Guide to

Getting Well and Staying Well by Fred Penzel and for your son, " Blink, Blink,

Clop, Clop: Why Do We Do Things WE Can't Stop? by E. Katia Moritz. At 3-1/2 I

don't know how much he'll understand about the book, but it's worth a try -- at

least he can become familiar with the book.

Well, I've rambled on enough. Welcome again; this list helped me a lot in

knowing that we weren't alone in fighting OCD.

Tamra (ocdmom2001)

Omaha, NE

Re: Re: New to list

Hi

I'm fairly new year but wanted to welcome you. So far i've listened more than

anything. Like any dx you are fortunate to get an early start. The other's

have offered excellent advise.

The meds thing can take a while to have an effect. Having been a bit of a

veteran about meds having three kids on them i can tell you it can be

difficult. Sometimes you are lucky can get the right med and the right dose

quickly.

Often it can take time to get the right med and the right dose. It can be a

challenging time. I don't want to scare you. I just want to prepare you if

need be. I wish someone would have prepared me better having gone through it

with my kids.

In anycase what ever it takes it is well worth it.

My son showed signs of OCD when he was very little lining up his cars etc. We

thought it was very cute and neat. I don't mean neat like cool.

Regards, Dave

Our list archives, bookmarks, files, and chat feature may be accessed at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group// .

Our list advisors are Gail B. , Ed.D., Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., Aureen Pinto

Wagner, Ph.D., and Dan Geller, M.D. Our list moderators are Birkhan,

Castle, Kathy Hammes, Joye, Kathy Mac, Jule Monnens, Gail

Pesses, Kathy , Vivian Stembridge, and Jackie Stout. Subscription

issues or suggestions may be addressed to Louis Harkins, list owner, at

louisharkins@... or louisharkins@... .

[Guest guest]

Hi Alyssa,

No, you are not the only resident anti-drug mom on this list. I have never

given my OCD 12 year old son any drugs. I've been rather quiet on this list,

just reading and listening to what everyone is saying. --Just wanted to let

you know that you are not alone in the anti-drug position. If you ever want

to privately e-mail you can. My e-mail is harp@...

We've done a few things that have effected the OCD and some few things that

have helped a little, however we are still dealing with OCD and I'm still

looking

for that lifetime cure. Just want to be upfront here.

M

>Hi Deb,

> I think I'm the resident anti-drug mom on the list. I have

>learned to be more open. I recently talked with a middle aged woman who

>has been on Prozac for seven years (for OCD), and this was her miracle

>drug.

> Perhaps it will work that way for your son. But to give prozac

>to a three and a half year old! Children's brains are more vulnerable

>and still developing, and this would apply even more to a child under the

>age of five.

> It even seems that treating childen with medicine is a lot

>easier and more profitable than doing therapy. This is my particular

>bias.

> I also know how difficult it is to deal with a child with OCD.

>(My son is 8 years old, and he is doing much better after some

>ERP/cognitive therapy). I think being home from public school has also

>helped a great deal. He is now asking me to take him to the pool, so I

>need to go.

> Two very helpful books to read are Tamar Chansky's book, " Freeing

>Your Child From Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and March's book " OCD

>in Children and Adolescents. "

>

>

> Alyssa

>

>

>

>On Thu, 27 Jun 2002 14:03:19 -0400 DMillard writes:

>I can't tell you how thankful we were to find your list. Our little boy

>was

>diagnosed last week, and we found incredible amounts of information on

>ADHD

>and Autism but not much on OCD, especially in children. Apparently our

>son

>is quite young to be diagnosed with OCD? He is almost 3 1/2. He has

>been

>showing symptoms and having problems for over a year now, so to us the

>way

>he is acting is nothing new. It is however a name to what's going on,

>and

>hope that we can help give him a better life. We do have a ton of

>questions, as I'm sure most parents do; and we hope to find help and

>support

>through this list, and eventually to be able to offer that back to

>others.

>A few quick questions...

>Are there parents on the list with children diagnosed at the age of 3 or

>4

>years old? Is there any kind of therapy that's been found to be helpful

>to

>children of such a young age? Any advice on how to deal with our son in

>general - as far as distinguishing typical 3 year old type behaviors from

>OCD - there seems to be a fine line where he will jump from being typical

>to

>being OCD and really out of control. He needs a ton of structure and

>gets

>much worse without it; and also needs a lot of help with transitions, is

>this also pretty typical? He is being treated with Prozac and as it's

>only

>been 1 week, no results yet... This feels like an eternity already.....

>>From what we've read this is typical???

>Thanks for any thoughts! Deb

>

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

Hi Deb and welcome to the list! Welcome too to all the new folks that I wasn't

able to welcome individually--things have been very busy at my house lately and

I have begun skimming through the 250+ posts to the list that arrived during

this time :-) I hope you all find this list as informative, helpful and

supportive as I have over the past several years. My daughter, now 8, had an

overnight onset of OCD and tics when about to turn five. I found this list

about a month after her onset, and truly believe that without the input and

guidance I found here, her climb out of severe OCD would have taken much longer

and would have been much rockier.

Deb, you wrote:

>Apparently our son

is quite young to be diagnosed with OCD? He is almost 3 1/2. He has been

showing symptoms and having problems for over a year now, so to us the way

he is acting is nothing new.

Many parents, looking back, can recognize OCD symptoms that their children

showed at this age and younger. However, IMO you and your son were lucky to

receive a proper diagnosis and options at age 3 1/2. It is my impression that

many doctors are reluctant to consider OCD in very young kids, and there is

still the idea out there that OCD is an adult disorder. However, I remember

reading of a study which showed that half of adult OCDers recall having their

OCD in childhood. My heart goes out to all the kids who struggle through their

childhoods, school years and so on without knowing what is wrong and what can be

done about it.

>A few quick questions...

Are there parents on the list with children diagnosed at the age of 3 or 4

years old?

My daughter's onset was at 4 years, 11 months, she had turned 5 by the time

she received her official diagnosis. There are at least a handful of us on the

list whose children were diagnosed at these ages.

>Is there any kind of therapy that's been found to be helpful to

children of such a young age?

Cognitive Behavior Therapy with Exposure and Response Prevention is the only

type of therapy shown to reduce and eliminate OCD symptoms. It can be modified

for young children. Other sorts of therapy offered children--such as talk

therapy, play therapy, art therapy and so on--do not treat OCD symptoms but can

be supportive. Finding a behavior therapist with experience in treating OCD in

very young children may be a daunting task for you however, these therapists are

scarce. But the collective wisdom on this list strongly suggests finding the

right type of therapist/therapy, and not waste your time, money and hope on

other types of counseling!

>Any advice on how to deal with our son in

general - as far as distinguishing typical 3 year old type behaviors from

OCD - there seems to be a fine line where he will jump from being typical to

being OCD and really out of control.

My daughter's OCD got snarled into almost all her behavior, typical or not.

This would change almost daily so I never felt comfortable with what was OCD

compulsions, what was poor behavior due to frustration etc. from OCD, and what

was normal but unwanted behavior. I finally stopped worrying too much if a

certain unwanted/unpleasant behavior was typical for her age, or OCD. Instead,

I finally realized that the same techniques would work regardless. I suggest

you get a copy of March's " OCD in Children and Adolescents. " This is a

therapy manual that describes behavior treatment for OCD, and many of these same

techniques will work on non-OCD behaviors as well. Behavior modification is at

the root of many parenting classes, books on parenting techniques, and so on!

>He needs a ton of structure and gets

much worse without it; and also needs a lot of help with transitions, is

this also pretty typical?

Yes, both for his age and for a child with OCD. You can work on these by

slowly reducing the amount of structure you provide, and the amount of help with

transitions that you provide (providing lots of encouragement and cheers along

the way.) What I found out is, though my child didn't stand out among her peers

at age five in the amount of help she needed in these areas, she did by age

seven or so. The other kids " grew out of " needing so much help, while my child

stayed at the same level or even required more.

>He is being treated with Prozac and as it's only

been 1 week, no results yet... This feels like an eternity already.....

From what we've read this is typical???

Yes unfortunately, the SSRIs can take quite awhile to take effect. I and so

many others know just how agonizing this wait can be when you are wanting relief

for your child *NOW*. Hang in there though, the SSRIs can be very effective in

reducing OCD symptoms.

Take care,

Kathy R. in Indiana