Guest guest Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 A lot of people I notice lately are "germaphobic"....but you are right...don't let this continue...if it starts affecting his life/routine/schedule etc. then it has gone too far!!!! Maybe explain that you wash your hands certain times of the day and you have survived all these years...maybe that might help. If he continues...see if you can go to the doctor sooner...let him talk to him...and maybe he might prescribe zoloft....that helps with OCD. Jan Janice Rushen "I will try to be open to all avenues of wisdom and hope" From: tdhssp <johnvel@...>Subject: ( ) OCD Developing? Date: Friday, January 16, 2009, 5:05 PM Hi, my son will be 13 in a few months and has inattentive- type ADHD (takes Strattera 18 mg. which helps him focus), DCD, Pragmatic Language Disorder, low-average cognitive scores (he does not test well, never has, but performs alongside peers fairly well) as well as CAPD. He was considered "too social" be an assement team to be formally be given a diagnosis of an ASD, but our pediatrician refers to him as "Aspergers-like" , which I think fits him.Anyway, lately, he has become overly concerned with germs and poison. This began around the time that his courses in science and industrial arts got into safety and health. He is constantly coming to us with a miniscule scratch and wondering whether it is okay/infected/ ought to be bandaged. Yesterday, his brother found him washing his hands 6 times in the span of an evening. While I encourage good hygiene, he seems to be taking things really far! I try to make light of some of his concerns hoping that, he too, will follow suit. Sometimes he goes through phases with his interests and I am hoping that this, too, shall pass, but I am concerned that this may be the beginning stage of OCD.I don't want my son to become too stressed out and wonder how far to let the issue go. We do have a pediatric appointment scheduled, but that does not occur until April.Ideas?? (thanks) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 > > > I don't want my son to become too stressed out and wonder how far to > let the issue go. We do have a pediatric appointment scheduled, but > that does not occur until April. > > Ideas?? (thanks) My 14yo son with Asperger has always kind of been like this. He's very careful about everything, and his judgment about the severity of things is not super good. He washes his hands a lot, won't eat gooey food, makes sure the house is locked up every night, worries about our cats when they are out, puts band-aids on every little cut--you get the idea. When he was in kindergarten, he started examining the food labels of everything we ate to make sure there were not too many " g " s of fat. He would ask me, " is this too much fat " ? The upside is that he very rarely gets sick. He's never had any injuries other than tiny cuts. I think this is all part of Asperger. It involves sensory integration, executive dysfunction, working memory, processing speed, emotionalism, etc. It hasn't gotten any worse. You want to be aware of it and intellectualize his concerns as much as possible. It has helped our son to discuss the science behind his concerns. The one time we got REALLY worried was when he was washing his hands so much they were getting dried, cracked and even bleeding a little in little spots. But, we were able to talk him through it, and he got down to an acceptable level of hand-washing over a period of something like 3 or 4 months. I also got him to wash his hands with neutrogena, which is much gentler than normal hand soap. Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 At our house, OCD-ish looking behviors (not wanting items/toys moved, giving directions about which way to drive the car, etc.) are much worse when yeast is rearing it's ugly head. He mellows out (although still present in small amounts) when his yeast is under better control. You might look at yeast as an underlying cause. From: tdhssp <johnvel@...>Subject: ( ) OCD Developing? Date: Friday, January 16, 2009, 10:05 PM Hi, my son will be 13 in a few months and has inattentive- type ADHD (takes Strattera 18 mg. which helps him focus), DCD, Pragmatic Language Disorder, low-average cognitive scores (he does not test well, never has, but performs alongside peers fairly well) as well as CAPD. He was considered "too social" be an assement team to be formally be given a diagnosis of an ASD, but our pediatrician refers to him as "Aspergers-like" , which I think fits him.Anyway, lately, he has become overly concerned with germs and poison. This began around the time that his courses in science and industrial arts got into safety and health. He is constantly coming to us with a miniscule scratch and wondering whether it is okay/infected/ ought to be bandaged. Yesterday, his brother found him washing his hands 6 times in the span of an evening. While I encourage good hygiene, he seems to be taking things really far! I try to make light of some of his concerns hoping that, he too, will follow suit. Sometimes he goes through phases with his interests and I am hoping that this, too, shall pass, but I am concerned that this may be the beginning stage of OCD.I don't want my son to become too stressed out and wonder how far to let the issue go. We do have a pediatric appointment scheduled, but that does not occur until April.Ideas?? (thanks) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Thanks for you replies on my concern for OCD developing, folks! Someone wrote this note to me and I think they may have struck something here... the notion of literal thinking! I'll have more of a chat with my son and try to distinguish what might be going on. > wrote: > > The hand washing could be OCD or it just could be misunderstanding/literal > thinking. My son (AS) and my daughter (NT) both went through a phase where > every little scratch had to have a bandage to keep from getting an > infection, and it was because they really took to heart the lesson about > cleaning a wound. Once we explained to them about how bodies work to heal > themselves and form scabs, they got a lot better. Now they just absolutely > insist on cleaning a scratch, even a tiny one, thoroughly, then watch for > the scab to form. This is inevitably followed by them telling everyone about > how scabs are bodies' natural bandages that never lose their stickiness. > > Maybe try talking to him about why he is washing his hands. If he is doing > it because he wants to get rid of the germs and stay healthy, you can work > with that by talking to him about healthy and unhealthy levels of > dirt/bacteria/germs. If he is doing it because he can't stop himself, that's > OCD and a whole other ball game. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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