Hey CC! Question for you on OCD stuff

[momofrussell]

You said Chris has OCD right and doesn't he take meds for it? Has he always had it or did it rear it's ugly head at a certain age? How do you decipher if it's a passing phase or not?

From what we are seeing at home and reports at school, we are dealing with a bit of this. More then the normal "needing routine"...I have been watching Russell and it's not ALL DAY but there are definately certain things going on that makes me want to understand true OCD more.

So, enlighten me if you can!

Thanks!

A.

[CC]

Chris has always had OCD tendencies since he was just a tiny guy. Behavior management seem to keep it in check for a bit but as time went on and he got older the OCD really got in the way of learning and quality of life for him We had 3 different Docs DX Chris with OCD and all three suggested meds along with the behavior management. We resisted the meds for a long time but then broke down and tried them. Have to honestly say when the meds work they work GREAT but then they just STOP and its back to tweaking the amount or trying new ones to find out what will work at the moment. We are actually in the middle of tweaking and trying new ones. This part I hate for my boy as it seems like a tease for him when they work and his quality of life is so much better then BAM...

Chris is followed very closely with a ped neurologist just for his OCD issues.

I think all with DS have the tendencies of OCD but when it gets in the way of learning and quality of life it could probably be true OCD.

CC~

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

I learned at school today that sometimes onset of OCD can be triggered by anxiety. Just throwing that out there as I thought of your question when we were reading about it.

[CC]

This might help...

helpguide.org/mental/obsessive_compulsive_disorder_ocd.htm

[momofrussell]

Thanks CC and Jennifer!

Yes, I do know and understand that DS and OCD sometimes go hand and hand and range from "just an occasional habit" to getting in your way of your daily life and needing help/meds for it. I asked the teacher to give me more detail (she was vague in last email) on what he is doing at school. He is doing some things at home which might not be getting in his way JUST yet but he is also doing more and more OCD things that he needs life and items JUST SO. Things he has never done before. So, I am just trying to understand.

I am definately not worried at the moment or really concerned, just curious. He already is a different person post eye removal surgery and even now that we are back on Risperdal, he still is who he is. I am keeping my eyes open to the fact he has new habits which could turn sinister some day.

And yes, Googsmom, trauma can set things like this off. If it's too much trauma in one's life, they need "order" and then rely on the OCD to feed that. THAT is partially why I am keeping aware of this.

Thanks for the link CC, I will take a look at it!

A.

[mg12061]

This topic is very interesting and helpful. Kathleen has some similar tendencies. She has a dual diagnosis also (DS and TBI). A lot of these things appear to be needing things to be familiar(she doesn't like changes in her environment). I believe this is because she has become very aware of her bodies limitations, mostly from the strokes. She has no use of her left hand and she has a very weak left leg, her balance is very comprimised also. From what I see most of it seems to be "survival" in her environment with her dissabilities (mostly the physical ones). She needs to do things HER way because it's easier and feels SAFE. It doesn't make sense to her to change that. A few examples of things I first thought were OCD like. She will only sit on the passenger side of the car (in the back of course) not behind the driver ever. Once when I actually got her to sit on the other side I realised how hard everything was for her. She can't open and close the door (because her left hand is closest) and she has a really hard time getting in with her right leg first. This is all because of the lack of use of her left hand and very weak left leg. In order for her to be independant she needs to sit on the passenger side. The same thing would happen when getting into the tub she needed to get in a certain way and never would waver from this. We gate our dog with 2 gates, she would insist that they be a certain way I finally realised she needed it that way to get past them without help. She insists on being a certain distance from the table would get upset if she was pushed in too close. Well I believe this is because she can't push herself away and get out if it's pushed in too close she has to ask for help. This has carried over to school and she resists new seating especially at computer desks. I went into school last year to help them figure it out only to find they had forced her to sit on a really high and very unsafe and I'm sure scary stool. ( a whole other story!)I left crying knowing that they had forced her to do something she knew was not safe for her. By resisting she was advocating for herself BUT they weren't listening. She is very careful and resistant to knew environments and will hold my hand and go very slow, once she sees it's safe she lets go and is fine. I believe she is a bit fearful of any stumbling blocks that may be in her way ie.steps throw carpets, slopes etc... It's kind of like someone who is blind feeling their way around to become familiar and safe. She does fine if she's not forced and is given the time to familiarize herself with something new. I try now to first figure out if the behavior is her way of adapting to the environment and work wiht her on it. Some things of course ARE just an obsession probably but it's only fair to try and firgure out which ones are really neccessary for her to cope and which ones are obsessive. I hope this made sense... I don't know if this is the case for anyone else but I thinks it's important to first look at all the "why's" of a behavior any behavior before judging or changing it. Especially since sometimes it's our kids only way to communicate and advocate for themselves. Just my 2 cents.
Mary Grace

[Myria]

I can definitely see a correlation between trauma and OCD. Ayden has been very routine oriented lately, and he has to have things a certain way (cup in the same spot on the table all the time types of things) Nothing too serious for now~

[laurasnowbird]

wow, CC, that is an exceptionally good link. Thanks for sharing!

[momofrussell]

Mary, thanks for sharing about Kathleen with all of that!

I am just keeping an eye on things for now as well as school is. Hopefully it's a passing phase......

Thanks everyone for your input.

A.

[Ericsmomma]

I've noticed since Eric is getting older, the OCD traits are more noticable. Especially with diet and the TV. Its obsessive. He does seem to be more stressed lately due to being sick the past 2 weeks..(flu and sinusitis). I'm hoping we can get him calmer, and hopefully that will help the OCD stuff (he was never diagnosed with this, but man, he most certainly seems like it). Dolly