Fw: Other parts of my email train to be posted

[Guest guest]

Thanks , Barb and for your help in getting my posts to the group

instead of moderaters only. :0)

I still find it humourous that my then 6 year old got a 6feet 5 inch tall doctor

to : " have to sit under his small desk " while she pretended to be the tornado she

was afraid of -- we were taking a trip the midwest and she was sure " we would

all die from a tornado " . After we took the trip, she wanted to move there she

had so much fun. Past the tornado fears and on to bigger OCD issues.

I have heard of and looked at some of the books Barb mentioned. However, up and

down the worry hill made me wonder if it would not introduce new ideas to my

child for rituals she has not yet thought of???? As most of the things in the

book she was not doing. We do go through a 8 - 10 week time frame every spring

where she cannot stop washing her hands. It amazingly starts almost on the same

date every year. Then it goes away again around the same time each year. Her

allergies are awful when winter turns to spring and other than that shift I

cannot pin point any huge changes for her. Allergies are a lot. Foods, and

enviornment. I had her tested at age 4. Can deal with foods, have not found a

way to change our climate here in OR. :0) Instead we do our best.

The visual red and blue lights, like dots she says too many to count, are a

concern to me. I as you may guess cannot find a doctor who will take this

seriously. I will keep searching.

I can usually tell who I might ask and who would think I have a problem as a

Mother....some doctors really are tough on me, so I try to avoid those

situaltions.

I also should clarify, I have taken her to an ENT, she had a CAT scan and also

another ENT for a 2nd opinion regarding her nose and breathing issues. Her

lungs have been tested 5 differnt times. All are clear.

They are compassionate and usually slip me a piece of paper that says OCD on it.

None seem to have any decent referrals for me.

So, I am in the process of interviewing specialists. 1. to see if they will

work well with me, and 2. to see if they will work well with her.

She is a visual learner and I prefer hands on.

I can change if I need to.

I am so glad I found this group before choosing a thearpist. All your input

really helps.

Thanks again,

Warmly,

new to the group

Hello, I am new to the group. My daughter who will be 8 soon was diagnosed a

year and a half ago with OCD. Looking back can see it as far back as 2yrs old.

Now that I am beginning to understand what OCD is, so many things make sense. .

I found a good book on parenting my child with OCD. Still searching for a good

match in a therapist for her. She has seen a child play therapist for her OCD

off and on for about 18mo. However, she will not follow his direction. Thus, I

end up doing most of his job. So, looking for someone she will listen to and

follow through as best she can on.

We had a huge breakthrough this week. She finally was able to say she has OCD,

I read her some stories last week about what OCD is and tried explaining it on

her level for sometime. It was so heartbreaking to me that she refused to even

listen to me about it. Now that she has realized it we can start talking more

about CBT skills and learning how to deal with her OCD needs. I know tomorrow

she may go back to " not believing she has it " .

She is my only biological child. I have two step sons who are 31 and 28 (28

year old is married with almost 3 year old granddaughter).

Our families (mine and my husbands) are in complete denial of her OCD. Often

even encouraging our child's rituals unknowingly. Example: Uncle took her to

the park and they played a game of not stepping on the sidewalk cracks or they

would become a monster. So, I talked with my brother after he told me this like

it was a game and told him he could spend time with her, but needs to learn

about OCD so he can join the team --which so far is only me and my husband and

her therapist. -- He was upset with me for making an issue out of it. It is

all still new to us and hopefully in time we will find family support or other

support too.

Which is what caused me to reach out to this group. I need support too.

Wondering if anyone knows a good resource for helping extended family and

friends to understand her needs (those who at least want to understand her). So

many people in our families think we are awful parents and " I would never let

my child talk to me that way " . I need a book or website I can send them to as I

am tired of trying to explain OCD while I am in a crash course of learning about

it myself. Any thoughts out there???? I am not an awful parent. They just do

not see her OCD, or choose not to.

Also, my husband and I are relieved that this does have an explanation for our

child. Even if it is very hard to make any sense of it. We adore her and will

help her any way we can. She also has this energy that just goes on and on all

day long. Counts a lot. Any input from the group about helpful or not helpful

resources would be so appreciated.

I love teaching and was a teenage mentor for years before I had her. So, I home

educated her for pre-K, then we found a large co op for PE and field trips,

holiday parties etc....so after much thought, decided to home educate her. She

is very social. Hides her OCD somewhat well ( seems proud of this to the

outside world, school friends etc...) as long as she is super busy she seems

better. However, at home with my husband and me, or the 5 or so adults who she

knows love her unconditionally she is able to allow us in to see her as she is.

Beautiful regardless to me.

She is not on any meds yet. Still looking into that and possibly ADHD or ADD

other things first before going to meds. I so appreciate what you are all

sharing, I am taking notes and will do my homework on lots of things I had not

thought of. Are there lists somewhere of natural things that may help her?

With gratitude on the journey with all of you,

in Oregon