Childhood OCD

Occasionally, children who exhibit difficulties with behaviors, attention span and grades are not so much Attention Deficit as they are OCD -Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.Literature on the subject of Childhood OCD suggests that somewhere between 2-4% of pre-adolescent kids suffer some OCD symptoms. The condition is more prevalent in boys, but girls can exhibit symptoms as well.There is a strong genetic component to childhood OCD - where one or more parent, sibling or other close family member suffers from OCD or anxiety disorders.

Symptoms of Childhood OCD

• Constant worry behaviors
• Checking ,re-checking, and redoing things like homework or simple tasks. 
• Fears of abandonment 
• Abnormal guilt - asking for forgiveness incessantly
• Abnormal fear of poisons, chemicals, contaminants
• Inordinate anger over little things
• Thoughts of dying - going to Hell.
  
• Overly frequent hand washing, finger picking, showering
• Inordinate discomfort when touched by others -fear of germ  transfer
• Fearful assumptions that his/her minor behaviors will have a devastating effect on others. 

heVarious treatments are often successful in helping children with OCD. The most common and effective include the Cognitive-Behavioral interventions. Specific to OCD is Response-Prevention Therapy. In RPT, the family is involved in helping the child practice new ways of thinking when he or she feels the OCD thoughts coming on. The child is exposed in increasing levels and time to the feared situation. This brings on an increase in the obsessive thoughts and fears, which are then dispelled by replacement thoughts, with the help of the family. During the therapy, in the office and at home, the child is not permitted to engage in the compulsive behavior.For example,

one 10 year old I recently treated had a fear of common household cleansers. When even in the room where mom was cleaning, the child would experience intense fears of exposure, poisoning and death. Through RPT, the family was trained to help the child practice safe exposure to mild cleansers, but he was strongly encouraged and supported such that he was not permitted immediately to wash his hands when exposed. Through  cognitive rethinking and verbal self-reminders, the child was able to overcome his fears, obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, not only to mild chemicals, but to constant school work "do-overs", friendly touches, and social situations. Psalm 55:22 says
"Cast your fears on the Lord, for He cares for you". RPT puts this into tangible practice for suffers of OCD.