Re: 3.5 Year Old/Possible OCD/Aggression

[Guest guest]

Hi! It's hard when they are that age (I think) to say it's definitely one

particular thing. Because young kids go thru these " stages " of wanting things

perfect (putting things a certain way, not messing up...), having *their* things

& only their's, and the " do it my way " and crying when it's not, etc. And lots

of kids have their collections, that's typical.

Each of my sons when young were in tears when they began school and would have

their homework to write and then if they erased and either ended up with a hole

in the paper or some black smear (bad eraser) they'd melt down and cry and

sometimes throw the whole paper away and start over! I couldn't calm them down.

However, " yes " kids this young can have OCD, get diagnosed. Also, throw in

possible autism spectrum traits and there's those to deal with; and these can go

along the lines of OCD too.

Personally I'd not go with a Mood Disorder diagnosis because OCD and the HFA

alone can cause his behaviors.

I guess, first, I would address things from his HFA perspective/needs. See how

that helps. And then from the OCD needs.

So with is HFA he might need his daily structure & routine. Needs to know ahead

of time what his schedule is, no surprises; inform him in advance, more than

once, if something is different today (if not having regular storytime, etc.).

He may have his regular toys or seat at school, gets upset if someone else is

there, etc. Teachers can try to chart what was happening before he got upset.

Some don't do well with " free time " and need it more structured as to what they

should be doing. A lot of sensory issues also. Could have an occupational

therapist with the school evaluate him for this. Also a speech therapist since

language issues are a problem with autism. Redirection helps sometimes to

prevent their getting upset (you know it's coming so direct his attention

elsewhere) and staying on task with work/play he made need prompts/reminders....

With OCD to address - maybe pick 1 or 2 things to work on with him. If he has

to line things up - try to make a game of purposefully having them NOT lined up;

could compete in some way for a reward, who's is the messiest or take turns

moving out of line.... Anything he has to have a " certain way " you could try to

mess it up, at his age a game and rewards might help him to work with you.

(this could be tried whether it's on the OCD side or the HFA side at his age)

Well - just some very quick thoughts. I'm just taking a break at work now,

thought I'd peep in, so I may have more to say later, LOL. I have a son

diagnosed HFA/Aspergers and he's 20 and with OCD. Also 2 other sons who are

" typical " but probably really ADD/ADHD but no diagnoses. They're ages 20 and

24. Three very different people, personalities!

>

> My son is 3.5. He has a diagnosis of PDD-NOS (High Functioning Autism). We

recently went to a psychiatrist that suggested he could also have OCD/ADHD or

Mood Disorder (not really that helpful, but anyway...).

>

> He has always had meltdowns his entire life. From the minute he was born, he

cried all the time. Recently, the meltdowns have escalated to some pretty

aggressive behavoir at home and school. In

[Guest guest]

My daughter from infancy would have massive meltdowns about transitioning

(stopping one activity she liked). And she

would get so upset about any changes or home or throwing

stuff out. What a memory too. She remembers things she had years

ago and wants to know what it is at.

She has two diagnoses. One is Asperger because she is so fixated

on her own interests and misses a social perpective.

The other is OCD. And this is the issue that impacts her life

the greatest. Any kind of stress triggers OCD. Then all kinds

of things bother her too. Smells, germs fears, school refusal etc.

We did not have her OCD treated until this summer with zoloft.

Now I wonder why we waited so long. She suffered way too much

and behaviors have to be relearned.

The issue for you to be careful about is that if you son

has Bipolar a medication like zoloft will make him more agressive and

agititated. All of the pyschiatrists I talked to about my daughter's case wanted

to start on zoloft or prozac because the side

effects are often the most minimal. We have BP in our extended

family so we were worried. We started the zoloft off low at 12mg dose and we

keep it at that for a 3 weeks and then increased again.

I felt this was a safe strategy. If she was worse it would be a small

impact rather than big.

Some doctors with kids with developmental disorders prescribe

rispedal for addressing aggressive behaviors. It can act as a

mood stablizer but I don't think it helps anxiety. It may in some

people. You can get it in a patch and it works right away. The side effect is

often weight gain.

I have a new view on medication now. I kick myself for not

trying something sooner. My daughter had panic attacks

from age 3 on to new and novel settings. We just keep up the

small exposure therapy to new setttings etc.

Once she was on the zoloft some things improved right away. Panic

stopped, she can wear socks (use too be too uncomfortable),

she can tolerate sortof loud noises. She needs her OCD

to continue to be treated with higher doses or something else

because she is still obsessing when ever life is stressful.

Sinus infections set off OCD still. So we have a ways to go with

the medication. But she can't live like this without medication it is

just too chaotic.

The other ideas are to reduce the length of the time he is exposed

to anything new, rehearse all new settings, structure his

day completely. Make his life ordered. Reduce the school day

until he can cope with more of it without hitting or being

anxious or agressive.

Pam

@yaxhoogroups.com, " kellikish " wrote:

>

> My son is 3.5. He has a diagnosis of PDD-NOS (High Functioning Autism). We

recently went to a psychiatrist that suggested he could also have OCD/ADHD or

Mood Disorder (not really that helpful, but anyway...).

>

> He has always had meltdowns his entire life. From the minute he was born, he

cried all the time. Recently, the meltdowns have escalated to some pretty

aggressive behavoir at home and school. In the past week, I've been hit by him

multiple times, as has the teacher. These episodes also have screaming, running

away, etc.

>

> Sometimes when he does it he is " melting down " and seems out of control.

Other times, it seems more delibrate.

>

> My son is constantly anxious. He needs to line things up, script, and do

things in certain ways. If not, he loosing it. He has obsessions (the color

green, making " collections " , etc. ) He is a hoarder (but not severely so).

>

> I'm wondering if anyone has a child this young with an OCD dx, or has a child

that was like this. What did you do? I'm starting to consider meds out of

desperation, so if anyone has any thoughts about that. I'm also looking for

suggestions for what the school can do.

>

[Guest guest]

Have you ruled out PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder

associated with strep)? It often begins as young as three, although goes

undiagnosed for a long time. Symptoms can range from all of these to only some

of these symptoms:

OCD, tics, anxiety, separation anxiety, all kinds of urinary issues/changes,

sleep problems, aggression, ADD/ADHD, handwriting trouble, trouble with math,

rage issues. This is not a comprehensive list, but a start.

Colleen

>

> My son is 3.5. He has a diagnosis of PDD-NOS (High Functioning Autism). We

recently went to a psychiatrist that suggested he could also have OCD/ADHD or

Mood Disorder (not really that helpful, but anyway...).

>

> He has always had meltdowns his entire life. From the minute he was born, he

cried all the time. Recently, the meltdowns have escalated to some pretty

aggressive behavoir at home and school. In the past week, I've been hit by him

multiple times, as has the teacher. These episodes also have screaming, running

away, etc.

>

> Sometimes when he does it he is " melting down " and seems out of control.

Other times, it seems more delibrate.

>

> My son is constantly anxious. He needs to line things up, script, and do

things in certain ways. If not, he loosing it. He has obsessions (the color

green, making " collections " , etc. ) He is a hoarder (but not severely so).

>

> I'm wondering if anyone has a child this young with an OCD dx, or has a child

that was like this. What did you do? I'm starting to consider meds out of

desperation, so if anyone has any thoughts about that. I'm also looking for

suggestions for what the school can do.

>