Support needed for 9yo with severe OCD and his mom!

[Guest guest]

Hello!

I have had OCD (since I was 19 and am now in my 30s) and ironically enough my

friend's son, who's 9, also has OCD as well as Tourette's. I have been

remarkably helped through Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and SSRIs. I can't

wait until the day when he can take advantage of these treatments. But when is

it time to do so?

My friend's son's doctor has prescribed meds primarily to treat the Tourette's

and has avoided SSRIs and CBT. But the OCD has gotten worse and worse over the

past several years. It's to the point that his evening ritual can last for 30

minutes (tapping, word exchanges, body movements, etc). And the morning ritual

is getting similarly long. Her son is distressed and embarassed by his rituals,

but they keep on getting more and more elaborate over time. My friend is at her

wits ends and is trying to be as patient as she can, but doesn't know how to

help him. She is overwhelmed and I want to try to help her.

Do you have any recommendations on what I can do/say to help support her

emotionally? Any suggestions on good treatment advice for her boy?

Thanks in advance!

[Guest guest]

Hi ! Well your friend's 9 year old is certainly not too young to start

therapy, don't believe there is a *too young.*

She should go ahead and seek out an experienced therapist to help him. I'm not

sure which meds are prescribed to treat Tourette's, so don't know if the doctor

is hesitant due to possible " interaction " of the two types of meds, might

interfere with controlling his Tourette's if he's doing well with his meds for

that? just guessing here, I'd ask if I was the mom. BUT - she could seek out

the therapist first, get started with that and see if meds for the OCD are

needed, he may manage to make some progress in therapy without a med targeted

for his OCD.

There are some great kids books for OCD, he may enjoy some of those to learn

more about it and that MANY kids have it too, he's not alone. Also great parent

books too.

Using the internet and books and the help of this group, we basically had to do

the therapy part on our own, as our small area didn't have anyone experienced in

therapy for OCD. Although we did treat the OCD with inositol powder and then

later on my son started Celexa. Both helped him, so that helped with progress.

I think teaching him what OCD is and how it is treated, bossed back, through the

books or other research, could help him be less uncomfortable with starting

therapy or even him & mom trying on their own. They wouldn't work on all at

once, you know, could start with choosing 1 or 2 behaviors.

Quick thoughts,

single mom 3 sons

, now 22, with OCD, dysgraphia, Aspergers

graduated UNC-CH in Aug. 2011, BS Biology

>

> Hello!

> I have had OCD (since I was 19 and am now in my 30s) and ironically enough

my friend's son, who's 9, also has OCD as well as Tourette's. I have been

remarkably helped through Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and SSRIs. I can't

wait until the day when he can take advantage of these treatments. But when is

it time to do so?

> My friend's son's doctor has prescribed meds primarily to treat the

Tourette's and has avoided SSRIs and CBT. But the OCD has gotten worse and

worse over the past several years.