School Help

[Guest guest]

Hi !

My son, now in 9th grade, has been dealing with OCD since the

beginning of 6th grade. It GREATLY affected his ability to do his

schoolwork and his being able to read and write.

Some accommodations that come to mind that we've used or that I've

read about (or wished we had!) are: parent is allowed to have child

dictate work to them, i.e., parent is allowed to write for child (we

used that all during 6th grade and some of 7th and 8th with

unfinished classwork he would bring home and with homework); extra

time allowed to turn in assignments with no grade penalty; tests can

be given orally, i.e., teacher/aide could read questions, etc., and

he could state answer; less amount of written work given to him

during this time due to dealing with GAD & OCD behaviors to lower

stress level. Those are just a few things that come to mind right

now.

With my son, he actually could not write some days; or read. He

tested at gifted level also. And he would sometimes avoid writing

due to his knowing it would trigger some OCD thing or perhaps

get " stuck " and not be able to move on, etc. Some days he could

write more than others, as you said there are good/bad days.

Problems with writing varied as to the OCD - at one time he had to

erase & rewrite, or erase and NOT rewrite; he might get " stuck " for

some reason as he wrote and not be able to proceed; he'd be afraid to

pick up his pencil as he'd have to deal with trying to get that " just

right " feeling the way he held it or something..... Who knows what

all OCD can come up with! With reading at one time it was that he

had to repeat things in his head (re-read) until it " sounded right "

in his head. And he was always WAY above grade level in reading.

Suddenly he never read, avoided it. I think OCD can also be a

distraction in class also. had a " clock " thing going at one

time where he'd have to look at the clock.

So YES OCD can definitely affect schoolwork ability in many varied

ways. You'll read lots about that as you research and read posts

here!

Keep us updated on how things are going! This group has been my BEST

support since we began struggling with OCD in our lives.

single mom, 3 sons

> Hi, I am new here. My son has been diagnosed with generalized

> anxiety disorder with some compulsive behaviours. He is 7 and on

> Celexa.

>

> He is having progressively greater problems at school with getting

> work done. He finishes almost nothing each day despite

understanding

> the work and being able to answer orally correctly. He is getting

> close to failing some subjects like math where his educational

> testing indicated that he is just short of gifted. Someone

[Guest guest]

and Kathy R.

Thank you so much for your posts. You describe my son perfectly. Although the

doctor won't say he has OCD, just compulsive behaviour, they acknowledge that it

looks like OCD. They just don't believe in labelling young children with a

diagnosis. They are still hoping he will outgrow it. I am not thinking this is

likely given that he has at least 2 blood relatives diagnosed with OCD. His

father (doesn't live with us) is one of them.

What I find strange is that although his teachers even mentioned doing some of

the things you suggest such as taking oral answers or letting me write down his

work, they said they won't mark that work. They won't mark anything he brings

home to finish that he didn't finish during the day. I have asked for it to

come home anyway so I can monitor how he is doing and to be sure that he

understands the material. Isn't that the important part of grade 2 anyway? As

long as he understands, he will be able to understand the next thing they learn

as they build upon their knowledge.

I hadn't been able to put into words before what I thought was happening with

him but you are right. He can't put the answer down or say it out loud until he

is sure it is " just right " . I know this is frustrating to people who don't

understand but his teachers are both special ed certified and one of them even

owns " Teaching the Tiger " . It just goes to show that you can educate people but

that doesn't mean they have learned anything. They don't apply what they have

learned.

I have tried to explain it by comparing him writing down answers to someone with

agoraphobia that has to leave the house. I'd bet that many of them would stay

in there even if it was burning down. It would depend on the day. The solution

may seem so obvious to others but they are judging our children based on what

they, themselves are capable of; not what our children are capable of. If they

can't get unstuck, they can't. End of story.

I have wondered over and over again the last 3 years we have been struggling

with this (thank goodness underwear, socks, pants and shirt don't all have to be

the same colour anymore) why people assume children with problems are either

lazy, bad, stupid or a combination of the 3. They are none of those things. In

fact, they probably put far more effort into getting dressed in the morning than

most people put into an entire day.

Sorry for the venting but Christmas is very stressful for my son and, therefore,

for all of us. He apparently has been spending most of the school day this week

just sitting at his desk playing with his pencil. Virtually nothing has made it

onto paper.

His doctor just increased his Celexa yesterday. He has only been on it 2

months. He said if the increased dose didn't help, he would consider something

else and gave me and the teacher the Connor's questionaire. He was originally

diagnosed with ADHD and GAD but when he took his Ritalin vacation this summer, I

never noticed any difference in his behaviour. The doctor doesn't see ADHD

anymore either. He fidgets a lot but he says that anxiety is causing that. He

says if you know much about children at all, you can sit back and watch them and

easily tell the difference just by watching their mannerisms. Things like

avoiding eye contact completely when he is nervous (not all the time).

Teacher's think it is all ADHD and some Ritalin will cure him. That didn't help

and increasing the dose just made him a zombie in class even though it wasn't

very much.

I am going to take all this information from both of you and Teaching the Tiger

and the Learning Disabilities website I found and demand that he get an

individual education plan with accomodations for how he is graded. Hopefully,

that will take some of the stress off. If they had any clue what he goes

through every day just getting out the door, they would probably be amazed. And

he isn't even all that severe.

Any suggestions for sleeping as the holidays approach and he stays up later and

later every night?

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[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

The welcome letter said to introduce myself when I got a chance, so

here goes:

I joined the list because of my son. He is almost 7 years old, and was

diagnosed with PANDAS this past summer. He pretty much just exploded

into verbal and motor tics and had all kinds of other symptoms

(anxiety, irratability...), following an upper respiratory infection. A

blood test showed his ASO levels through the roof. A course of

antibiotics brought it down to a dull roar, but the tics have

continued, to some extent, since then. (He had had a similar episode

the winter before).

Although he had some " compulsive tics " and some short lived " looping "

in his thinking where he would get kinda stuck on a single idea for a

short period of time, he was believed to be having primarily Tourette's

symptoms without any clinical OCD. (He's part of a study at the NIH

and is seen there monthly. The doctors who work with him are

wonderful!)

In the beginning of November, it appeared that maybe this was all

finally clearing up as he had several tic-free weeks. Then, right

around Thanksgiving, he seemed to suddenly start with a lot of

obsessions and some compulsions as well. (Spiders in his hair, roaches

in his clothes, intrusive images that would keep him awake at

night...). He also started having some episodes of separation anxiety.

The initial impression was that this was probably another PANDAS

episode with primarily OCD features. (Although we don't think he has

been sick, and his strep test was negative).

In speaking with him, however, it has become clear to us that he has

been doing (and hiding) a lot of OCD stuff for a while. He is on

medication for an overactive bladder; but, even with the medication, he

has been wetting his pants at least once a day for the past few months.

(Never during the night! He's always been dry at night. He just has

accidents during the day). Now it turns out that there are " monsters "

in the bathroom, and germs, and he has had some elaborate mental ritual

that he has to do before entering the bathroom, causing him to often

not make it.

He also has a thing about counting to 5 before he enters or exits his

room. And some other stuff. Now that some of this has come to light, a

lot of his behaviors since this summer have started to make a bit more

sense.

Anyway, in speaking with him (he's very verbal), we are getting the

impression that these " thoughts " are kind of like a background noise

for him. They are always there, but most of the time he can either

ignore them, or he will actually tell them to go away and leave him

alone. (We heard him in is bed one night telling his brain, " I decide

what I'm going to think about, I'm in charge and I'm not going to think

about the scary monsters). This does seem to work a good amount of the

time, but when he is under stress or sleepy or extra anxious, he can't

fight it anymore. It also seems that talking about it is helping.

Since the bathroom problem came to light; just acknowledging that that

is what he has been doing has seemed to have helped enough that he

hasn't had an accident in about a week.

There are a few " untouchable " obsessions right now that he is unwilling

to even talk about, but all in all bringing it out into the open seems

to be helping him. He is seeing a therapist right now, but she is not

an " expert " in OCD, and is mostly addressing the depression issues.

Since he was already doing a lot of the " right " cognitive things

(recognizing it as a " Brain tic " or a " Brain trick " . and bossing it

back) on his own, and since he has responded well to just talking with

us (his parents), he would be an excellent candidate for some

behavioral therapy. Unfortunately, we don't really have anyone nearby

who is trained.

My husband and I both are/were special education teachers and we have

some background in OCD, and we've have the book, " Freeing your

child...... " , so I'm kind of wondering if we can do this on our own,

without " professional " help as long as he looks to be improving.

There's lots more, I guess; but, this seems like plenty for an

introduction...

Jeanne

jwestpha@...

NBCT - Exceptional Needs (2000)

[Guest guest]

,

Regarding the teachers not marking the work that's done orally or

brought home - I just can't understand why they won't. At the least,

it had best NOT be affecting his report card. They'd best be making

sure he understands the work and not leave all that up to you.

Also, I wanted to say that I agree with so much that you put in

your " vent. " You've got great perspective on all this, your son's

lucky to have you!

> and Kathy R.

>

> Thank you so much for your posts. You describe my son perfectly.

Although the doctor won't say he has OCD, just compulsive behaviour,

they acknowledge that it looks like OCD. They just don't believe in

labelling young children with a diagnosis. They are still hoping he

will outgrow it. I am not thinking this is likely given that he has

at least 2 blood relatives diagnosed with OCD. His father (doesn't

live with us) is one of them.

[Guest guest]

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

> They just don't believe in labelling young children with a diagnosis.

They are still hoping he will outgrow it.

*****Well alright so long as this tack is working for him and you. You may

need a " label " at some point to access insurance benefits or school

services/accommodations though. GAD and clinical anxiety are dxes too

though that they did apparently " believe " appropriate to label your son

with. But if he is bothered with anxiety/obsessions/compulsions to the

degree that he needs an SSRI and therapy to be more comfortable/functional

it seems like semantics.

> I am going to take all this information from both of you and Teaching the

Tiger and the Learning Disabilities website I found and demand that he get

an individual education plan with accomodations for how he is graded.

Hopefully, that will take some of the stress off. If they had any clue what

he goes through every day just getting out the door, they would probably be

amazed. And he isn't even all that severe.

***** it seems to me that your son's symptoms are fairly severe and

impairing, and have been going on for three years. You are on the right

track in getting accommodations for your son IMO to take some of the

pressure off while you sort out meds and effective therapy for him. The

time will likely come when he no longer needs them but he needs them now.

> Any suggestions for sleeping as the holidays approach and he stays up

later and later every night?

*****Dye-free Benedryl about an hour before bed, and no sugar after about

midafternoon. A cal-mag supplement is harmless and may relax him. Give his

SSRI at night *if* it makes him sleepy--some kids are energized by their

SSRI--check with his doc if this is a change from current dosing schedule.

Only quiet soothing activities from dinner until bedtime, and you might try

reading to him for awhile as he lays in bed, which may give him something to

focus on instead of worries. Try hard to hold the line and maintain

something of the normal schedule during the holidays. My dd's symptoms

escalate (OCD, general anxiety level and tics) when she's overtired and out

of her usual routine.

There are also prescription meds his pdoc could prescribe. Sleep

disregulation is pretty common in anxious/OCD kids, the serotonin system is

involved in both.

Take care,

Kathy R. in Indiana

[Guest guest]

Kathy R.

I agree with you completely about the ODD. I have long noticed that when there

is no anxiety, there is no ODD. So I have refused to have that diagnosis

attached to my son since then they have an excuse to label him a bad child since

by definition it is a dysfunctional learned coping strategy. The child should

then be in control of whether or not they act that way. It is interpreted that

way in adults anyway.

Thank you also for outlining that strategy for labeling the obsessive thoughts

as belonging to OCD. I haven't really gotten much help on how to deal with this

except to not become a part of the anxiety/OCD. That is much easier said than

done as you said. Sometimes it is hard to figure out what to do about it. For

example, how do you expose a perfectionistic child to doing something less than

perfect if they refuse? Your strategy might be helpful here if he will trust

me. He is not a very trusting sort and for good reason so we will have to see.

Even though Xmas is still coming, the difference in his behaviour being out of

school is amazing. I wish they could see this. He is so happy now and looking

for ways to help me around the house. Just picking up his laundry is stressful

most days he is in school. He doesn't mind meeting new people or going new

places at the moment either. Nice change. And his stuttering (not really but I

can't think of the right word for it) is gone too. It is like he starts a

sentence and doesn't know how to get his thoughts out so he goes back and starts

again and again and again trying to get it right. I just ask him to slow down

and start again and remind him that I am listening to him and make sure to make

eye contact if he will let me. That usually helps but depends on how anxious he

is.

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