Re: Re: New and Still Wondering...

[Guest guest]

and it is also possible that if you husband has ocd, he feels a little guilt for

passing (or possibly passing) this on to your son. 

Subject: Re: New and Still Wondering...

To:

Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 3:08 PM

 

Hi, .

The fact that your husband has OCD can make it more likely that is what your son

is dealing with, since it can be genetic. But, it can manifest itself

differently in them. For instance my husband has OCD, but it is mild compared

to our son's OCD. So even if your husband has been able to handle his and not

have it upset his life too much, that is no guarantee that will be the case for

your son. Not meaning to scare you by saying that, because it's just as likely

that it can be mild for your son. But, not knowing, it's best to be evaluated

and start ERP to assure it doesn't have the chance to grow out of control IF it

turns out it is OCD you are dealing with. Because despite it being genetic,

those with OCD can still have children without it and maybe that is the case for

your family.

Do you know of any other family members on your husband's side that show signs

of OCD? Once our son was diagnosed and I started learning about OCD, I realized

all these quirky things I'd been seeing going on in my husband's family, was

OCD. They are all undiagnosed, but have a lot of contamination issues and

hoarding. I suspect my father in law also has Tourettes, because he's always

had a lot of face grimacing, shoulder shrugging, and blinking.

I hope your husband reading the books will help him get to the point of having

your son evaluated. It's best to catch it early.

Concerning PANDAS. . It's never a bad idea to be checked, even more so if the

OCD came on suddenly and they've been exposed to strep. But, for now,

statistics show that only 25% of those with OCD are PANDAS related, so the

majority are still not considered PANDAS cases. Either way, in both cases ERP

is still the treatment recommended.

Check the ocfoundation. org website in your area, . They list

therapists by state. Be prepared to interview them over the phone, making sure

they use CBT/ERP to treat OCD. Just because they are listed there doesn't mean

they know and understand OCD, we've found, but there are some who do also.

I suspect most psychologists and pediatric psychiatrists could diagnose OCD, but

we found most don't know how to treat it correctly and successfully. It's

crucial to find someone who does treat it correctly.

BJ

>

> You all are so supportive and I feel so liberated when I read your posts. As

I continue to observe our son's behavior, he has started and is continuing to

say the same phrases over and over again. This morning he kept saying " sorry "

to his younger sister (about every 5mins) as I was preparing our snacks for the

park. I asked him multiple time why he's saying 'sorry' and he said he hit her,

kicked her, bumped into her things, etc when in fact he had barely touched her

and was even in the different room! I even asked my daughter if he had hit her

and she said no. Well, this morning's behavior increased my concern about his

OCD. As I mentioned, my husband and I are on board as far knowing he has

anxieties and potentially OCD but we're not agreeing with the severity so my

husband doesn't want him evaluated yet. I did call my husband to talk about my

concern this morning (thinking that I may have convinced him to get our son

evaluated). After

reading

> about OCD on the internet, he said he read articles that claim " OCD is so

hard to detect in young kids because they can't talk about it " , " we need to

build his self esteem " , and " family cognitive behavior is so important for

him " .... UGH! My husband even admitted a few nights ago that he has OCD (which

I never knew about) so I suppose he was able to cope and probably thinks we can

help our son through it. I would do everything to help our son but I know we

can't do it by ourselves.

>

> Don't get me wrong...my husband is wonderful and is just as concerned as I am

about our son's behavior. He is also extremely involved with helping him but I

suppose he is nervous about mis-diagnoses because our son is at such a young

age. I noticed when my son is occupied with play or something else, he doesn't

repeat the phrases. It seems when he has " quiet " moments these thoughts run

through his mind. Since we're new at OCD, I sometime think I'm overreacting and

perhaps this is just a phase of his development. Deep down, though, I know

there's much more to it. When you all began your journey, did you ever doubt

yourself for thinking your child has OCD?

>

> Most of you mentioned PANDA and I did look into it on the internet. Our son

has never had strep and this behavior isn't sudden. He has always been a VERY

anxious child. Now that I think about it, he perhaps always had OCD behavior.

He's terrified of thunder and for the past year, he has always asked if it's

going to thunder before going to bed (since it seems most of past storms occur

in the evening). He asks this every night regardless after explaining to him

about thunder and he can't sleep if we don't reassure him about the

thunder...perhaps this is an OCD ritual? Anyway, if / when we get our son

evaluated, I'll request a test for PANDA. Does anyone live in the Northern VA /

Washington DC area that can recommend a place to go for evaluation and therapy?

>

> The good thing is my husband is an avid reader and I have a few books on order

regarding OCD. I look forward to reading them and will be impatiently waiting

for them to come I feel our son has one chance at his childhood and don't

want his anxities / OCD to rob him of it...

>

> Thanks!

> in VA

>

>

>

>

> ____________ _________ _________ __

> From: Garceau <juliegarceau@ ...>

> To: @ yahoogroups. com

> Sent: Tue, March 16, 2010 3:07:32 PM

> Subject: New and Introduction

>

>

> Hi Michele - Welcome to the group. My son was diagnosed with OCD at age 5, he

is now 8. I definitely saw signs prior to his diagnosis, although did not

recognize them as OCD until after the diagnosis - hindsight is everything! What

we went through has certainly challenged me so much, as a mother, a wife and a

therapist. I felt as a therapist myself I should have been able to catch this

and fix it, but it came on so fast and with your own children it is much

different than with others. As a mother and a wife I felt the guilt of not

being the perfect mother and I felt and still feel the need to keep everyone

happy and protected. The one thing I can say about a diagnosis at such a young

age is that at least they can start to learn and utilize the skills so much

earlier. Just think some people don't deal with their issues until adulthood

and have a lifetime of work to do.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

In regards to the repeating phrases I have done manythings.  Initially we

answerede is every question (not realizing at the time that was not necesssarily

the greatest thing to do).  Then we flat out ignored it.  After that did not

seem to work we approached it in therapy as a goal.  We tried to have him limit

the number of times he could make a certain statement.  We just focused on one

statement at a time, but did this in an attempt to have him take control over

the OCD.  It is certainly something that takes time and practice, but can be

done.  Good luck with it all!

 

Connecticut

[Guest guest]

Being a parent is such a mind blowing experience.  My daughter was conceived by

donor insemination , I never met the dad - but I chose someone who was good at

math and science (my downfall - I have ten fingers - this is how I understand

the decimal system) - just hoping that would help.  Sure enough she's in honors

math and loves school (I hated it) - when she does math practice for the SATs I

miss every question and she howls with laughter! 

 

Meliss

> From: svdbyhislove <BJClosnercomcast (DOT) net>

> Subject: Re: New and Still Wondering...

> To: @ yahoogroups. com

> Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 3:27 PM

>

> Good point, . 

>

> I think my husband does (feel a bit guilty), but has never

> said it out loud.  Just something I sense.

>

> BJ

>

>

>