Re: not able to sleep without sleep aide - side step to neuropsych testing

[Guest guest]

I have not read any study on cognitive disorders with OCD.

However, lots of kids with a Non Verbal Learning Disorder

have perfectionistic traits and are diagnosed first with OCD,

as my daughter was. Kids with NLD also sometimes have quite

severe visual spatial issues and this could contribute to many

anxieties around heights, movement.

Kids with NLD often have strong verbal and reasoning skills,

deficit executive skills, math calculation skills, poor processing speed, poor

organization.

The child with NLD and anxiety or OCD is always disorganized,

always visually spatially changed even if OCD waxes and wans.

Pam

-- In , " polive7 " wrote:

>

> Sorry about problems with sleep. But, in reading note, response about

neuropsych testing really caught my eye.

>

> Are there particular areas that are affected by OCD? Processing speed,

executive skills, short term to long term memory, etc.

>

> My son had a Traumatic Brain Injury last year and we had extensive neuropsych

testing - but only towards the brain injury not the OCD. He qualifies for 504

adaptations but now I wonder what problems might fit under both diagnosis.

>

> It would have been so much better if learning issues were also addressed early

on. No one asked, really, and we were just focused on getting the rituals to a

controllable state.

>

> He has OCD which is very controlled with 80 mg Prozac/day. Skip a day, though,

and can tell. He is 16.

>

> Best to all,

>

> Phyllis

>

[Guest guest]

From what I understand, cognitive dysfunction can be present in those with

mental illness. You might expect however, that as the OCD improves or is

exacerbated, so is the dysfunction. Baseline cognitive dysfunction or

dysfunction that occurs when symptoms have abated may be attributed to something

else. OCD is a disorder that is associated with many other disorders such as

those on the autistic spectrum, Tourettes, learning disorders, ect... and those

have a component of cognitive dysfunction too.

Bonnie

>

> Sorry about problems with sleep. But, in reading note, response about

neuropsych testing really caught my eye.

>

> Are there particular areas that are affected by OCD? Processing speed,

executive skills, short term to long term memory, etc.

>

> My son had a Traumatic Brain Injury last year and we had extensive neuropsych

testing - but only towards the brain injury not the OCD. He qualifies for 504

adaptations but now I wonder what problems might fit under both diagnosis.

>

> It would have been so much better if learning issues were also addressed early

on. No one asked, really, and we were just focused on getting the rituals to a

controllable state.

>

> He has OCD which is very controlled with 80 mg Prozac/day. Skip a day, though,

and can tell. He is 16.

>

> Best to all,

>

> Phyllis

>

[Guest guest]

With , OCD affected him at school. His reading speed slowed down lots,

couldn't really get it done. So did his writing. OCD can distract students a

lot also during the day. And distract while needing to do work. Also paying

attention in class, seems like he wouldn't hear all the teacher said. Unusual

for him before OCD. At his OCD worst, I read his work to him and also did the

writing, was in his 504 Plan for that.

I guess you need to know how OCD is affecting him (if reading or comprehension

slowed, is OCD distracting him so he's not listening, does he have some

compulsion/ritual while reading...). I wouldn't think short or long-term memory

would be bothered; however, it did seem to me that - who remembered

everything, was remarkable to me - wasn't as good at it after OCD but I put that

down to all his OCD distraction and his missing " things " by not hearing or

paying attention to actually listen or to what he was reading, etc.

Glad the Prozac is helping!

>

> Sorry about problems with sleep. But, in reading note, response about

neuropsych testing really caught my eye.

>

> Are there particular areas that are affected by OCD? Processing speed,

executive skills, short term to long term memory, etc.

>

> My son had a Traumatic Brain Injury last year and we had extensive neuropsych

testing - but only towards the brain injury not the OCD. He qualifies for 504

adaptations but now I wonder what problems might fit under both diagnosis.

>

> It would have been so much better if learning issues were also addressed early

on. No one asked, really, and we were just focused on getting the rituals to a

controllable state.

>

> He has OCD which is very controlled with 80 mg Prozac/day. Skip a day, though,

and can tell. He is 16.

>

> Best to all,

>

> Phyllis

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Phyllis and others,

Just thought I'd jump in on this topic. Our son had LD diagnosed at 5yrs,

auditory processing defecit, and some visual stuff too. Since we did not know

about OCD at the time, it's hard to know if it was at play then too, but there

was lots of anxiety around learning always. We attributed this to the LD

challenges, were told as much.

Know I wonder how much the OCD factored in. Since our son has tackled the OCD,

he now is reading books, which he never did until after the OCD. He tells us

now, that he doesn't have to read and reread, which was OCD based. But prior to

OCD diag he was slow to read because of LD stuff, and I think the OCD locked

into this and would tell him he didn't understand and needed to reread.

Anyway, what I think I am trying to say is that for us it is really hard to know

if both the OCD and LD were at play from the beginning with regard to learning.

We are having our son retested in a couple of weeks for LD stuff, so I'll let

you know what of anything we turn up. I am very curious to see what if any

changes there are. The very slow processing speed that was attributed to LD may

well have been OCD stuff or both.

As Bonnie says, it's common to have cognitive impairment with any mental

illness, it's all brain based stuff. When I'm very depressed I feel like there

isn't even a switchboard, never mind anyone to operate it. On the other end of

things my brain operates at lightening speed and can accomplish in a day what I

could not do in a month.

With my son, on the bad days, with the OCD added to the LD, schoolwork was just

not possible. Now it is more a matter of energy level to cope with it all,

which varies with stressors and seasonal changes I find.

Phyllis, I'm glad your son is doing better with the OCD. Has the brain injury

added to his challenges, in terms of learning? Was your son ever tested for LD?

Warmly,

Barb

>

> From what I understand, cognitive dysfunction can be present in those with

mental illness. You might expect however, that as the OCD