Re: Glad I Found You!

[Guest guest]

Hi , and welcome,

In addition to all the other good advice people have given you, I'd

suggest the following websites as particularly good for teachers and

principals :

This is a long pamphlet written in very simple language that shows

examples of all kinds of kids with all flavors of OCD. It makes everything

VERY clear for teachers:

http://www.klis.com/chandler/pamphlet/ocd/ocdpamphlet.htm

And this is one by Packer, who has created the best website (in my

humble opinion) about OCD and related conditions called

www.tourettesyndrome.net (you should also check it out when you have time -

don't let the " tourettesyndrome " part of the name throw you). This is some

very concise, to-the-point info about OCD and school :

http://www.schoolbehavior.com

I hope this helps. Let us know how things progress!

in Nevada

[Guest guest]

Hi , and welcome! Your son's teacher is acting a bully and the

principal is clueless. Forcing a nine-year-old to tears, repeatedly? *You*

have to get your son's behavior under control, and this has what to do with him

being bright?!! That would be great if bright kids could control their symptoms

so as to not inconvenience others, but it just doesn't work like that. OCD is a

brain disorder that causes distress to the sufferer and the type of symptoms

your son is having in the classroom. It can be controlled with medications,

therapy or both, but these interventions take some time.

For right now I suggest you ask his diagnosing psychiatrist to call his teacher

& principal to walk them through OCD and how to respond to your son's symptoms

in a helpful/positive way. Some are even willing to do staff inservice

presentations. Kids can't be shamed or punished out of having symptoms but

often enough these things can worsen their anxiety--and it is a valuable plus

that your son is willing to go to school despite the disorder and anxiety.

You might also visit www.ocfoundation.org they have lots of resources about OCD

and kids with OCD, some that are geared toward educators. Your son's teacher

and principal need to get up to speed about this brain disorder, and ideally be

on the " recovery team " instead of vilifying your son.

If you haven't already, I suggest you find your son a competent behavior

therapist who is expert in treating OCD in children. A certain type of therapy,

Cognitive Behavior Therapy with Exposure and Response Prevention, is the only

type of therapy that reduces and eliminates OCD symptoms. For the sharp-pencil

problems, for example, using ERP your son would gradually become accustomed to

using duller and duller pencils (and the anxiety this causes) until his concern

about pencil sharpness was gone.

HTH,

Kathy R. in Indiana

----- Original Message -----

I am the mother of 3 children. My son was diagnosed with OCD a few

weeks ago, he is 9 years old.

I am trying to find info that I can give to his teachers and

principal. I've been called to school twice in the past week, because

they had to remove my son from his class room. I don't think they are

treating him fairly, he was upset about pencils not being sharp

enough and couldn't do his work. His teacher's reaction is to keep

insisting that he do it. He gets so upset, and cries to the point

that he disrupts the entire class. The teachers reaction is to call

the principal to the room to remove him. When I spoke with the

principal on he said that my son is a bright child and that I need to

get his behavior under control. So, I'd love some input and advice

from anyone. Thanks in advance!

[Guest guest]

The teachers and principal need to be educated to the fact that it takes more

than a few weeks to get OCD behavior under control. I'm sure there are members

of this group who have found educational materials to share with the school

staff about OCD and how to deal with it in the educational system.

Judy

Glad I Found You!

Hi All,

I am the mother of 3 children. My son was diagnosed with OCD a few

weeks ago, he is 9 years old.

I am trying to find info that I can give to his teachers and

principal. I've been called to school twice in the past week, because

they had to remove my son from his class room. I don't think they are

treating him fairly, he was upset about pencils not being sharp

enough and couldn't do his work. His teacher's reaction is to keep

insisting that he do it. He gets so upset, and cries to the point

that he disrupts the entire class. The teachers reaction is to call

the principal to the room to remove him. When I spoke with the

principal on he said that my son is a bright child and that I need to

get his behavior under control. So, I'd love some input and advice

from anyone. Thanks in advance!

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Your son has a health disorder and requires accomodations to be able

to function in the classroom. I'd recommend getting a letter from

his doctor stating his diagnosis, and requesting that your son be

evaluated for the need for a 504 plan or an IEP. Once one of these

plans is in place, the school is required by law to provide

accomodations. The appropriate personnel will have to follow the

plan. You are a team member in making the plan, and a therapist or

psychiatrist can also attend the planning meeting if necessary to

provide information and suggestions for accomodations. When I did

this for my daughter, I wrote a summary of what OCD is, and her

particular symptoms. This was enlightening to her teachers, who had

no experience with OCD. We used this information to then decide on

the accomodations she would need. When things change with her (a new

obsession pops up, or a new problem arises in the classroom) I can

call another meeting to add accomodations. If you'd like to see the

information sheet I created for teachers, I'd be glad to share it (if

I can figure out how to cut and paste it!) I can also share some

typical accomodations that have helped Kati. It may give you a few

ideas, anyhow.

> Hi All,

> I am the mother of 3 children. My son was diagnosed with OCD a few

> weeks ago, he is 9 years old.

> I am trying to find info that I can give to his teachers and

> principal. I've been called to school twice in the past week,

because

> they had to remove my son from his class room. I don't think they

are

> treating him fairly, he was upset about pencils not being sharp

> enough and couldn't do his work. His teacher's reaction is to keep

> insisting that he do it. He gets so upset, and cries to the point

> that he disrupts the entire class. The teachers reaction is to call

> the principal to the room to remove him. When I spoke with the

> principal on he said that my son is a bright child and that I need

to

> get his behavior under control. So, I'd love some input and advice

> from anyone. Thanks in advance!

>

[Guest guest]

,

We're glad you found us too! Welcome!

I'm a single mom with 3 sons, one of which is diagnosed with OCD.

He's now in 8th grade and turned 14 today!

His OCD got pretty severe back at the beginning of 6th grade and we

had to get some accommodations for him at school. Actually, his

handwriting also changed to pretty illegible at that time so the

school mostly accommodated THAT; however, it sort of worked out that

we were accommodating his OCD problems at the same time. The school

looked at it ONE way, I was looking at it all pretty much as OCD.

At any rate, I happened to come across one paragraph that actually

mentions the pencil problem:

" Observable rituals may include things such as touching, having to

sharpen a pencil until the point is perfect, washing their hands over

and over again, turning the light switch on and off an exact number

of times, checking and re-checking the lock on their locker, packing

up their book bag " perfectly, " and handwriting rituals (described

below). "

The above was at this link:

http://www.tourettesyndrome.net/tips_ocd.htm

Another webpage with some OCD & educational info is:

http://www.nami.org/youth/classrm.html

Also available to buy at the OCD Foundation site is:

http://www.ocfoundation.org/ocf1150a.htm

There's also a great book called " Teaching the Tiger " that some

parents have actually bought and donated to their schools. It covers

OCD and other disorders too.

With we set up a 504 Plan for him at school to accommodate

and modify the schoolwork, etc., due to his OCD. I mean, some nights

he was just incapable of even doing any work. He stopped reading

too. He didn't even want to pick up a pencil at times or it took him

a while (had to do it " just right " ).......at any rate, I can very

well imagine how he'd have been if he needed the pencil

sharpened " just right. "

What other compulsions/obsessions does your son have? Have you found

a qualified therapist yet to treat him (one that's experienced in

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and also Exposure & Response Prevention)?

Did his OCD just seem to " pop up " or has he apparently had behaviors

for a while? My had minor OCD compulsions back in elementary

school, nothing that complicated our lives or his; then in 6th grade

it just seemed to get severe overnight! Happily, he is now so mild

that I can say OCD isn't much of a problem any longer. (knock on

wood!) So take hope!

With , if he'd had the " have to have pencil sharpened just

right " behavior.......well, advice might vary on this, you know your

child best and how upsetting things are for him. Usually you pick

the " least anxiety causing " things to work on first to gain control

over the OCD. But ideas off the top of my head - if it's a really

BIG OCD compulsion right now and you've just recently begun OCD

therapy/treatment or OCD itself (that overnite thing!), if it's a BIG

meltdown at this time and there are other behaviors to work on, you

might let this go for now or take it real slow. Like limit the

number of times he can sharpen a pencil during class; or he is to

sharpen all his pencils at the beginning of class and no more. But

the teachers will need to work on this with him and you need to

probably " ease him into the goal " and not overwhelm him at the

beginning. (any of this make sense? sorry, I'm typing sort of fast

here!)

With , we also had them allow him to bring all unfinished work

home. I actually was his " scribe " for 2 years (long story) and I

wrote all down for him at home. He could write at school but just

couldn't get much done. At home his OCD seemed worse after holding

it in/back all day at school, so I guess you could say we had

some " school modifications " at home also! could turn in work

late with no penalty; he was allowed to write in incomplete sentences

if he wanted to, to lessen the amount of writing.

I can think of lots of other accommodations that parents have used -

is there anything else going on with OCD at school that is giving him

problems completing his work and/or sitting in class?

Hope I didn't confuse you too much here, I know I've rambled on! Let

us know how things go with the school. I know I've got some school

info saved on another computer that I might can find for you!

This group is GREAT for advice, venting, experiences....just great

support overall. Let us know how things go.

> Hi All,

> I am the mother of 3 children. My son was diagnosed with OCD a few

> weeks ago, he is 9 years old.

> I am trying to find info that I can give to his teachers and

> principal. I've been called to school twice in the past week,

because

[Guest guest]

-

I am so sorry that the school personel you describe are so

insensitive to your son's needs at this time. Have you discussed

his diagnosis with them? I found some good, concise information on

ocfoundation.org specifically regarding children. Has you

physician/psychiatrist/counselor been in contact with the school? I

would suggest getting the two together so that a good positive

intervention plan can be instituted for your son.

Some of the things I've found helpful with Anne (age 12, 6th

grade, diagnosed in October with OCD, unsuccessful Paxil, now on

Celexa and working on daily - still EASY - exposure:response-

prevention) include:

*I've discussed her diagnosis with the school guidance

counselor. She has been very instrumental in coordinating Anne's

needs especiall with the 'ancillary' instructors such as band, home-

ec, phys-ed.

*I keep in weekly(or more often) e-mail contact with her team-

leader teacher. She has been SO responsive to Anne's needs. She

noticed one day that Anne was not sitting at her desk and was able

to identify Anne's fear of germs from other kids using the desk. It

had apparently been going on in her other classes as well. Now Anne

has access to spray and towels so she can clean her desk in each

room (some of the teachers even do it while she is entering the

classroom!...we gave each of them a continer of Clorox wipes for

Christmas .... Of course, the ultimate goal is for Anne to be

able to recognize the OCD thought as just that....an OCD obsessive

thought that does not need to be addressed with cleaning...but in

the meantime there are some things that can be done to keep her in

school and focused on the topic at hand instead of the germs that

aren't there.

When I contact the teacher, I update her on Anne's medication,

any new fears/worries at home, any side effects at home; I ask her

for her input on what she's observed at school. It truly has been a

team effort, and I don't think Anne would have continued in the

public school setting were it not for understanding and helpful

staff.

I think that sometimes, teachers may be reluctant to go the

extra mile for a kid with OCD because they see it as not 'fair'. I

love the definition of fair I ran across recently...fair is not

equal, rather fair is meeting everyone's needs. In this case your

son NEEDS someone at school willing to go the extra mile with him

right now.

I will be praying that you find the resources that you need to

help you son at school. Keep us posted.

(Ohio)

[Guest guest]

OK, I figured it out. Here's the letter I sent to Kati's teachers:

To: Kati's guidance counselor & teachers

Re: Information about OCD

Date: 11/19/02

Kati has an anxiety disorder called obsessive compulsive disorder, or

OCD. It is caused by too rapid reuptake of a neurochemical called

serotonin in the interface between the basal ganglia and the orbital

cortex of the brain. This region of the brain acts as a filter,

screening out inappropriate fear responses. In OCD, although the

person knows intellectually that a particular stimulus is not

dangerous, the brain-body response to the stimulus ( " fight or

flight " ) is not reduced. Therefore, the person will worry or obsess

about matters that are not truly threats (for example, germs or

contamination, certain numbers, thoughts that they have made a

serious mistake or caused an accident unknowingly, etc.) The

obsessions are temporarily relieved by acting out compulsions

(excessive washing, counting rituals, checking, asking for

reassurance, for example). Treatment for OCD includes medications

(usually SSRI's—selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), cognitive

behavioral therapy, and maintaining general well-being (regular sleep

habits, exercise, good diet, reducing stress, and so on). OCD is a

relatively common disorder, affecting about one adolescent and adult

in 50. However, it frequently goes undiagnosed. It is a lifelong

disease that waxes and wanes. It seems to be made worse by hormone

changes and stress.

Kati has been in treatment for OCD since November, 2000. She takes

an SSRI at bedtime. For the first year, she had weekly cognitive

behavioral therapy. At home, we try to keep her on a regular sleep

and exercise schedule. She attends gymnastics twice a week, leaving

the house at 5:45 and not returning till 9:30. She attends ballet

classes on Monday afternoons, also, and is active in drama and

cheerleading, as well. The exercise and activities seem to be

important for her well being, but they make it necessary for her to

plan her homework carefully in order to complete everything on time.

She has made tremendous progress, but still has some areas where OCD

affects her functioning. Symptoms which may affect her in school

are subtle, but real. Here are some of the areas of concern:

-Kati has numbers obsessions. She has eliminated many of the " bad "

numbers from her list through therapy, but the number 6 is still

causing her difficulty. Although she can tolerate exposure to the

number in the form of solving question number six, or working on

chapter six in the textbook, some situations may be difficult for

her: listing six examples of something, or answering a six part

question of some kind. She is unable to shower, dress, eat, or

otherwise prepare for school between six and seven am most mornings,

so it is challenging for her to get to school on time consistently.

She reports feeling anxious during period six.

-Kati may have difficulty with tardiness or good attendance due to

subtle effects of her OCD. Worries about having all her materials in

order may cause her to be somewhat inefficient in getting from class

to class. Social behavior, which she uses to distract herself from

OCD symptoms, may also play a part here. In the past, she was unable

to attend school on certain dates. She still has some difficulty

with attending church on certain days, but at the moment this

doesn't seem to be interfering with school attendance. She has

monthly appointments for medication checks which are nearly

impossible to schedule outside of school hours.

-Kati has some behavioral side effects from her medication. She is

currently on the lowest effective dose for OCD, but has had some side

effects such as giddiness, oppositional behavior, extremely social

behavior, and distractibility. These effects increase with stress.

-Kati sometimes exhibits perfectionism. In math, this shows up as

excessive showing of work, and an unwillingness to combine steps in

problem solving. Each separate step must be written out in

excruciating detail. In other classes, she may not turn in late work

if she believes there is a large penalty, or if she thinks the work

is not good enough. She may have difficulty completing work if she

feels she is not capable of doing an excellent job—for example, in

art, she may not want to work on a project while her right arm is in

a cast.

-In the past, Kati had compulsions with doorways. She had to go

through the " correct " door, or touch the door a certain number of

times, or walk through it till it " felt right " . In school, she would

frequently leave items in a classroom, and then ask to go back to

retrieve the item, in order to be able to walk through the door

again. At the moment, this does not seem to be an issue, but it

could resurface if she has a relapse.

Kati's diagnosis of OCD was the result of an acute episode which was

precipitated by a wrist and hand injury. She has recently re-injured

the same wrist, and it is in the process of being diagnosed and

treated. Since her injury, I have noticed a slight increase in her

OCD symptoms at home. It is the nature of OCD for symptoms to wax

and wane, often in response to stress. Symptoms can also change over

time. Therefore, I wanted to make sure you have some knowledge and

understanding of her illness.

I appreciate your willingness to help Kati to be successful in

school. She is very bright, organized, and capable of doing

excellent work, and her goal this year is to make Honor Roll. She

has been working very hard toward that end. If you have any

questions, concerns, or observations please feel free to contact me

anytime. (I included my phone numbers and email address here)

Some of the accomodations Kati has now are:

-to be given lengthy assignments in advance to accomodate her outside

activity schedule (no 3 page essays assigned on gymnastics night and

due the next day)

-limits on time spent on math (after she works for an hour, I can

stop her and write a note to the teacher)

-extended test time in math

-allowed extra time to get to class without penalty

-late work without penalty if needed

Other useful accomodations are to have extra copies of textbooks at

home, not requiring computer answer sheets for exams (one of my

students has this accomodation--she spends hours trying to fill in

every rectangle perfectly otherwise), limiting penalties for failing

to complete class work " on time " , etc.

I hope this is helpful to you. By the way, Kati is a sophomore in

high school, so her school situation is probably a lot different than

your son's, but I think you can get an idea of what might be done for

him.....

> Hi All,

> I am the mother of 3 children. My son was diagnosed with OCD a few

> weeks ago, he is 9 years old.

> I am trying to find info that I can give to his teachers and

> principal. I've been called to school twice in the past week,

because

> they had to remove my son from his class room. I don't think they

are

> treating him fairly, he was upset about pencils not being sharp

> enough and couldn't do his work. His teacher's reaction is to keep

> insisting that he do it. He gets so upset, and cries to the point

> that he disrupts the entire class. The teachers reaction is to call

> the principal to the room to remove him. When I spoke with the

> principal on he said that my son is a bright child and that I need

to

> get his behavior under control. So, I'd love some input and advice

> from anyone. Thanks in advance!

>

[Guest guest]

-you can't force a child to not have OCD! I find that teachers at

the middle school age were very ignorant about the disorder but in the

highschool much more understanding. Is your child on meds yet? That should

improve things. Also, does he have an IEP(is he spec. ed because of the

disorder?) They need to get a plan into action where they designate a

certain amt of times per day he is allowed to sharpen the pencils. But, if

there is no IEP in place, teachers do not have to abide with anything the

parents want. Good luck-Ellen