5 Yr old Daughter Showing Signs of OCD - Need Advice

June 19, 2008

Hi. I have a 5 yr old daughter who was diagnosed with Asperger's

Syndrome last year. Over the past month she has started up with a lot

of strange behavior - She is worried about touching everything. She

is constantly asking me if it is okay if she touches whatever it is

she is touching (ex. mommy, I just touched my nose, is that ok? Mommy

I just touched my ear is that ok? etc.) She is frequently washing her

hands and her skin is becoming chapped.

She is afraid of dying and asks constantly if you can die from

touching whatever it is she is touching or whatever it is she is doing.

and last night she started worrying about me dying.

We are Christians and go to church every week. Two weeks ago the

bible story was about the devil tempting Adam and Eve. Ever since

then she been telling me she can't get the devil out of her head and

she tells me that in the bible songs she keeps replacing Jesus' name

with the devil's.

Last week after I made her lunch she told me that something was

telling her it wasn't safe to eat the food I made her.

It seems to be especially worse at night and she is just having a very

difficult time. She got very upset last night when she was asking me

if her touching was okay. She said she hates that she has to ask me.

She is embarassed. She told me that she has really weird thoughts that

are hard to explain. She says she has been having them since she was

3/4 years old. She says she hates her brain and that she hates being

different that none of her friends are this way so why is she?

From the research that I have done on-line, it definitely sounds like

OCD to me. I called her peditrician and got a referral to a therapist

with experience with OCD and we will be going on Saturday to meet with

her. What I find confusing is that she mostly has this behavior with

me and not at school or with my husband or her grandmother.

I'm sorry this is so long, but I was looking for validation that this

sounds like OCD from someone who has experience with it and also some

advice on how to handle it. I feel horrible because I know this must

be so scary for her and I want to help her anyway I can.

Please let me know what you think.

Thank you!

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