OCD Thanks, Melody! You've helped me understand this a lot better. You helped me "get" what the therapist was talking about--I think it's hard to discern with an ASD, but she may be on to something. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by either obsessions or compulsions: Obsessions as defined by: Recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress The thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems The person attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action The person recognizes that the obsessional thoughts, impulses, or images are a product of his or her own mind (not imposed from without as in thought insertion) Compulsions as defined by: Repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive   Thanks for the input, guys. One of the reasons I asked was that this new therapist (over the phone--our 1st appt is monday) mentioned that some of J.s behaviors sounded like a little OCD to her--possibly germ/ contamination issues, and some very specific routines he has. For instance, whenever airplanes fly overhead, He stops dead in his tracks. Steps onto a new surface (if we are on the sidewalk-he finds a patch of grass, if he is on the carpet, he will go stand on a step) and we are not allowed to continue until the airplane sound is gone. He says "it's just something I HAVE to do". At yoga class he is compelled to stop everything-run over to another child's mat and TOUCH it,--sometimes across the entire room, and then he can resume class. He does this several times a class in a panic. There are many more, but I think she may be onto something. What do you think? He is very aware of his NEED to do these things. I'm diagnosed OCD (mostly subset OCPD - obsessive compulsive personality disorder). I will say mine is a much milder form of OCD first off, but I will explain my behaviors in hopes that it will help you see what it is in your own child. Books on shelves need to be in a certain way (and for this reason, I don't keep books on shelves). I personally need them to be the tallest on the outside and going to the shortest in the middle. They have to have the binding on the outside. And they must be top to bottom standing up vertically. Cans on shelves are the same way. But cans cannot be stacked more than 2 high. The labels must be facing forward. There must not be a different kind of canned product behind another (ie, no peas behind the green beans). And all the same types of products need to be beside each other (vegetables, sauces, canned meat, canned seafood). If they aren't that way, I get anxious and straighten them up if and only if I'm looking at them. If I'm walking past, I don't feel the need to straight them up, but if I'm looking at them, I do (hence the personality and not full OCD). Other things I need to not feel anxious is the people around me (oddly enough for me, this only applies to adults and not children or teenagers) to do things in the order I do them, or it causes me great stress. Like, glasses should be cleaned first, followed by bowls, dishes then pots and pans. If you're cleaning up, everything needs to be put in one large pile and then one by one seperated into smaller piles. Then again into smaller piles before being put away (this also applies to doing laundry). I also feel things do not get clean enough with certain things. Like, I will rewash a floor if someone has used a "regular" mop. I feel that floors must be washed with a sponge mop. Same with dishes. I feel like the dishes aren't getting clean if a dish rag is used instead of a sponge. I feel very lucky that neither of the boys have inherited these characteristics. But I really do think a lot of times it comes down to between the ASD, sensory and OCD, what is the reason that the person is doing the repetitive compulsive behaviors. If they do it for the order, then it's probably ASD. If they are doing it to relieve the anxiety (like some people feel their world will come crashing down if they dont do the compulsive or repetitive things), it's probably OCD. If they're doing it (like the repetitive taking coat off and on, but without a concrete pattern), it's probably sensory. Sorry for the wordy response... But sometimes I feel it's easier to see examples with an explanation. One of the differences is that the OCD person knows that they have these fixations and wish they didn't, but they can't help themselves.Mason has some of these problems too...He needs to take his shoes on and off about 10 times before he is happy, but it is always an inconsistent number, nothing concrete...same with his jacket...I always wonder if it is sensory related or OCD...he is also very particular about where things belong, for instance the milk and juice go in the door of the refrigerator and in a specific spot, and so many other things like that or it turns into a complete meltdown...Mason also has to smell everything before he touches it...he never complains of it stinking or not stinking, he just has to smell it if it is going in his hands...again, I don't know if this is sensory or OCD or ASD! emerald_52139234.4310300926 My daughter could careless that others think these issues are odd.  She doesn't even know she is fixating most of the time.  Sometimes, in conversation when she is doing this I will tell her, OK 2 more things about dogs and then we need to talk about something else for a little bit.  It is hard because occasionally she will give me thins look like, what you don't want to hear about it anymore?  She has said things to me like "OH I know I need to stop."  I don't want her to stop talking, it took so long to get her to talk, I just want her to know someone else that doesn't really know her dog died 4 years ago. [QUOTE=fred]One of the differences is that the OCD person knows that they have these fixations and wish they didn't, but they can't help themselves.[/QUOTE] Not only can't they help themselves, but it is a source of GREAT distress. I had a client once who lived in a boarding home.  He was living with Chronic Paranoid Schizophrenia/OCD/Substance abuse (in remission)/and dependent personality disorder. He was contantly of the belief that he was losing 20 dollar bills from his wallet.  He would perpetually stop, look behind him, take out his wallet and then put it away.  This would happen every few minutes up to several times a minute! He said to me once, "I know that it's not happening, but I cannot help myself and it is making me crazy.  I am not losing 20 dollar bills.  I don't even have any 20 dollar bills, but something inside me keeps telling me that I have to look and that I am losing them.  I can't make it stop." Needless to say...this was very difficult to watch and treat.  We would try and logic around it, but a compulsion is not necessarily logical. I do not know what the med of choice is these days, but he took anafranil for the OCD component. I know my daughter shows signs of OCD in different ways.  She does a similar thing like someone else mentioned.  She will collect things, sometimes they are odd and keep them in her purses or backpacks.  The thing that always got me was she knew right where they were.  She is also very OCD in her conversations.  She will tell the same stories over and over again and she also fixates on a certain subject.  I never know if it is the OCD or if it is just part of the ASD.What are some things kids with OCD do? We are seeing an autism/anxiety specialist, and I am keeping notes about phobias, compulsive behaviors, etc. I'm starting to look at some of Jasper's quirks in a diiferent light, and wondering what kind of behaviors children with OCD engage in? Any examples?One of my son's friends from NH has OCD (diagnosed).  He has to wash his hands over and over again all the time because he's hyper-vigilent about germs.My dd has OCD of the hoarder variety. She has bags and purses and boxes full of stuff in her room.  If you touch her stuff, she will sniff it to see if you "stank it up". She will straighten books and things that she has organized. IF you move something, she will REFLEXIVELY straighten it again. She is very very aggressive to people that she feels are messing with her or her stuff..ie don't touch her desk. She is forever screaming at people for touching her. She has never been formally diagnosed with OCD, but it is there. I am not too sure how much of her behavior is OCD, but since most people on this board don't seem to have these kind of problems with their kiddo's I assume it is. Sometimes it is difficult for me to discern which aspects of BB's behaviors are OCD and which are just habits/rituals (of course, at hos age, "OCD" is not a dx that he can be given and I would not think it appropriate for him anyway). For example:  Sometimes he HAS to have certain books ead to him before bedtime...others-no and these books change.  This I see as more of a stim or a ritual not compulsive. The only compulsive behavior he has ever really exhibited (and this only happened around two times about a month ago) was that he had to have all of the lights turned on downstairs before going upstairs.  I don't know where the compulsion came from and it did not last a wek, but that was definitely compulsive.
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