Re: Medication for very young children

[Guest guest]

Lowe,

I am a trained cbt therapist for ocd. Yes, it is possible to treat ocd

without medications. I'm not sure of the statistics but cbt is the suggested

first treatment when working with someone with ocd.

The following criteria are my suggestions:

1) the child cooperates with the therapist in creating goals

2) there is no co-morbidity (another diagnosis such as depression)

3) the parent is willing to invest the time to learn how to work with their

child to encourage them to meet their goals, while not doing it for them, or

supporting their compulsions!

4) the family and the therapist have a positive relationship

Most doctors prefer not to give medication to pre-schoolers, but when it is

prescribed, it often is due to another factor. If the child is depressed and

cannot find any hope in their life, are crying, angry, etc. the addition of

an SSRI can help take that edge off things and allow them to begin therapy.

Other disorders, such as ADHD and TS, are often found in kids with OCD, and

MAY require medication to help the kids control themselves.

CBT can work for depression, sometimes for ADHD, and other disorders. Each

person is an individual; children often have difficulties expressing

themselves accurately.

I hope this answers your question ........ wendy, in canada

P.S. 2/3 of my kids are taking medication. The 3rd was able to wean herself

and continue only with cbt.

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[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy R.,

Oops - I did intend to respond to your message but I can be

" communications-challenged " sometimes. Do you mind if I ask what

medication your daughter is taking? I would also like to ask the

group

about their experience with meds and children younger than six. I did

read the article ( was it Jenike-sp? that wrote it about

medication and children) but I wanted to know about your experiences.

I was really hoping that Cam could just do the CBT and not have to

take medication. Maybe I'm just afraid because I don't know how the

meds will affect him. I've been reading the posts about SSRIs and

affect on growth, etc.

> > > In a message dated 5/22/00 10:25:24 AM Central Daylight Time,

> > > klr@s... writes:

> > >

> > > > I think waxing and waning means a more or less gradual

worsening,

> > then

> > > > resolving, of symptoms. My daughter's OCD has never waxed,

she

> > has had

> > > > abrupt worsenings, then cruises along at the increased

symptom

> > level before

> > > > beginning a waning phase. She has just recently experienced

> > isolated days

> > > > when her symptoms were noticeably lower as Cameron did

yesterday.

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> > > Don't quote me on this, but I think your definition of waxing

and

> > waning is

> > > correct. A sudden worsening or sudden onset after it had

resolved

> > would be

> > > considered an exacerbation. Not 100% sure on that but with the

> > disease that I

> > > have that is how they distinguish between the two. A sudden

> > disappearance

> > > would be considered a remission.

> > >

> > > Peggikaye ... Oklahoma