Kentucky Partnership for Families and Children

WHAT IS OCD?
OCD is often described as actions that are excessively repeated, such as unusually frequent hand washing to assure that germs have been washed off, or turning the lock on a door a specific number of times to assure that the door is really locked. These are good examples of what a person with OCD might do, but they are not definitions of what OCD is. OCD is actually a type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts, or obsessions; and/or repetitive behaviors, or compulsions. The repetitive behaviors such as hand washing, counting, checking or cleaning are often done as a way to prevent obsessions that may be invading their thoughts. Sadly the relief people with OCD feel by acting out compulsions is only temporary.
Many people repeat an activity over and over, such as checking to make sure the stove is off before leaving the house. The difference is that people with OCD perform rituals to the point that it interferes with their daily lives, and they find the repetitious activities stressful. OCD usually shows up in childhood, adolescence, or even early adulthood. Many adults with OCD recognize their obsessions and compulsions for what they are and understand they are out of the ordinary, many children do not recognize their actions as being strange.
OCD affects anywhere from two million to six million American children and adults, and can co-occur with other diagnoses like eating disorders, other anxiety disorders, and depression. Very often OCD is triggered in children and adolescents by a stressful even, such as parents’ divorce, death of a sibling, moving, or some other dramatic change. Many times OCD co-occurs with substance abuse when people try to self-medicate. OCD seems to affect men and women equally, and recent research has been found to suggest OCD being at least partially genetic.

TREATMENT
Some common treatments of OCD are uses of various medications and a type of therapy called exposure-based therapy. This type of therapy seeks to expose a client to his or her fears with the hope that this exposure will reduce the fears. A second common therapy used with those with OCD is Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT). CBT strives to drive out the beliefs that cause the negative thinking in a disorder. This change in thinking will eventually change the person’s behavior.
If a different form of therapy is suggested for your child that you don’t understand, remember it’s okay to ask questions. It’s also okay to check other resources, such as the internet, or get further information from advocacy organizations like KPFC.

TIPS FOR PARENTS
One of the first steps you can take as a parent of a child with OCD is to find a parent support group for parents of children with OCD. Meeting on a regular basis with peers will help you learn more about OCD, learn tips from other parents who have been in your situation, and help maintain your own mental health.
Support from other parents will also help you through as will some of the following tips when working with your child, and may yield new tips.
▪ Stop participating in rituals
o Refuse to “help” with checking rituals (door locks, oven/stove, etc.),
▪ Don’t “help” with counting sequences, or any behaviors that repeat themselves, and
▪ Don’t perform any rituals yourself, such as hand washing or frequent changing of clothes,
 Don’t “reassure” your child by answering questions related to obsessions or compulsions, such as
• “did I check the furnace?”
• “do I look sick?”, or
• “did I touch the faucet?”
o Remind your child that you agreed not to answer those kinds of questions.

Helping your child’s symptoms is not helping your child.

TIPS FOR TEACHERS
As with most cases, the best way to find out what a student needs from you to better cope in your class is to talk to the student and consult with the parent. If the student and parent know they have a willing ear with you, they’ll be much more likely to work with you, instead of seeming to work against you.
When talking to the student, find out where his or her compulsions and obsessions lie. For example, ask if the student has written compulsions, reading compulsions, perfectionist traits, etc. Ask his or her parent(s) what they see when the child is at home. What form OCD takes in a child will determine how you should accommodate them.
Some quick tips for accommodating students with OCD are:
▪ Allow more time for completing tasks and tests, sometimes the student may need to take a test orally,
▪ For students with compulsive writing rituals, think of alternates to handwritten work, such as tape recording lectures, providing the
student with an outline, using a computer (if a keyboard is not a trigger) during class or test time,
▪ If the student has reading rituals, think about how you can break up the reading material, or even go to books on tape, and
▪ If the student has perfectionist tendencies, be careful not to focus on “perfect” work, you don’t want to reinforce those OCD issues.

TIPS TO SHARE WITH FRIENDS WITHOUT OCD
First, depending on how young your child and his or her friends are, they should know that OCD is not contagious, nor does it make your child bad. They should also know that being a good friend to your child, can help him or her through the symptoms of OCD, and eventually recover. You can use many of the tips for parents with your child’s friends.

Resources

National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
Phone: (866) 615-6464 (toll-free)
E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov
Website: http://www.nimh.nih.gov

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
Colonial Place Three
2107 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201-3042
Phone: (800) 950-NAMI (6264)
Website: http://www.nami.org

Obsessive Compulsive Foundation
www.ocfoundation.org
(Great for Parents & Teachers!)

Organized Chaos
www.ocfoundation.org/organizedchaos
(website for teens with OCD)

Kids Health
www.kidshealth.org

School Behavior: Tips for Accommodating Students with OCD
Leslie E. Packer, PhD
www.schoolbehavior.com