OCD behavior mostly at home
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Anonymous
| DS seems to display OCD-like repetitive behavior mostly at home. I rarely see it when he is in other settings. Do any of you experience the same pattern? I haven't yet pursued therapy since we have only seen the OCD at home and it doesn't seem to be affecting his ability to play, finish tasks, etc. |
Anonymous
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Such as what? DS washes his hands religiously upon entering a house or after a meal. He has to gargle three times, not more, not less, after tooth-brushing. He *must* close the toilet lid *at once* if he notices that someone left it open. These are all home-related activities, and pretty harmless. Asperger's runs in the family and I suspect he has a mild case of that (based on rigidity, OCD, social quirks, etc). No therapy. |
Anonymous
| OP here - Mostly hygiene-related behaviors (must wash his hands before and after meals) or ritualistic behaviors (if a room has two doors, he likes to exit using the door he came in) |
Anonymous
Actually, both of those examples sound pretty reasonable and common. But anyway, this book is great: http://www.amazon.com/What-When-Brain-Stuck-What-/dp/1591478057/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1445134120&sr=8-4&keywords=ocd |
Anonymous
| My DS has some similar behaviors. There was a time when his anxiety (in general) was interfering with his choices and daily activities so we sought treatment (he was 8-9). When his overall anxiety is managed, the behaviors are not interfering. We use them like a barometer but unless they're impacting him or us, we ignore them. |
Anonymous
| Keep a close eye on it because they can quickly start affecting their outside life. Took us a while to realize that he was making up excuses to not go out to dinner because he didn't want to us public toilets. As soon as it starts affecting his activity choices, friendships, etc...time to get counseling. |
Anonymous
| this was the case for my 5 year old, but then it started happening at school too. I wonder if it took the teachers a while to notice it? Or maybe he only did the behaviors at home first. CBT helped him. He is now 6 and doing better than he was a year ago. he does have other anxiety problems though. |
Anonymous
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Agree this can escalate quickly. It is pretty typical for OCD kids to suppress a lot of this behavior when they are not at home, but once the OCD escalates it starts happening outside of home. I suggest you do some things to tamp down what he is doing at home.
You can't discourage washing hands before eating, but you can limit the time spent doing so. You can ask him to wait a bit before washing hands after eating. Encourage him to use the less favored door. As it turns out tolerating or indulging the idiosyncracies is just about the worst thing to do. BTDT. I'd also get an appointment with a psychologist who does exposure and response prevention therapy, a form of CBT. It will take a while to get in. The OCD may be mild enough by then to require relatively few sessions. But if it does escalate, you'll be that much sooner to an appointment. |
Anonymous
| OP here - thank you for the input! I will consider CBT. I searched this forum, but haven't found glowing recommendations for a particular CBT provider. Do you have any recommendations for someone in in NW DC or Montgomery County? Looking for someone who would be warm and friendly toward my somewhat quirky DS, as opposed to aloof and clinical. |
Anonymous
We are in DC and used the Behavior Therapy Center in Silver Spring. They were very good about fit. The person we started with I'd probably describe as a bit clinical. But after a few sessions on their own initiative they switched to a warmer, fuzzier therapist. Both were male. Don't worry about quirky--just about all the patients are quirky in some way. Our only problem with BTC was the commute during heavy traffic hours. Perhaps closer to you is the Ross Center in Friendship Heights. There are some people who post here who are very satisfied. We did go there, but the therapist was really not a match (much older woman) who then asked us to come out to her house in Potomac, an even longer distance. I don't think this particular therapist is still there, and, as I said, some with more recent experience have good things to say about Ross. |
Anonymous
| OP, forgot to add the therapist we used at BTC was Brad Hufford. He specializes in working with children and adolescents. |
Anonymous
| Thank you for the recommendations! Anyone have a CBT specialist at Alvord Baker you and your child like? |