Wondering if dgd has ocd

DS has a long term condition that I have found out (on google?) that can lead to OCD. I think I will encourage him to ask his specialist nurse about it. It might make him think about some of his hang ups.
I’ll also talk about him about dirty play. For dgds.
Have found some books for worrying children that might help dgd.
Thanks for all your gentle.replies. Sorry, I didn’t look at them yesterday, thought the thread might have come to an end.
all

I think this child should be referred to a doctor for assessment.

As I have said on another thread, if a child was showing a few odd physical symptoms, frequent 24 hour temperatures, being sick after a meal several times a week, for example, no one would say, do not see the doctor, do not worry, children grow out of these things. We would recommend that the child see a doctor in case these symptoms ar an indication of something more serious.

We should react in exactly the same way with behaviour like this. As B9Exchange has pointed out, these symptoms could be the result of a 'real' illness and can be treated with antibiotics.

So, anxiousgran my advise would be for the parents to talk to the GP , take the child to see them and see if they can have a psychological assessment (and also mention PANDAS if appropriate).

We were recommended to take our son to an educational psychologist when he was 4, the assessment and advice that followed was enormously helpful and stilled our worries about him and guided how we dealt with the behaviour that had concerned us.

I'm with Gabriella on this.

If all human beings are on the autistic spectrum to some degree that means there is no normal by which to judge whether or not someone is autistic.

Anxiousgran CAMHS is the child and adolescent mental health services, accessible I believe through GP or school

Gabriella.You seem very defensive about all of us being somewhere on the Autistic Spectrum. There is no disgrace in it at all. I worked with Autistic children for many years and Ido believe we all have some traits . ,however small. Perhaps you have never met anyone who is Autistic.
They have many problems ,but are very interesting people and all different,just as we all are.

OCD is an extremely debilitating illness. We know someone with this and he is unable to work.

Having 'a touch of OCD' is just not the same thing at all.
Being precise and meticulous is an asset in many occupations and some people are more so than others, even from an early age.

Anxiety in a child needs to be addressed, however, in a way that does not make the child even more anxious. As someone said earlier, she is making sense of the ordering of the world, making sense of her environment and exercising some control over it.

Do your DS and DIL tend to be 'helicopter parents', organising her day for her? Perhaps she just needs to be allowed to play, get messy, use her imagination and behave like a little child of six and not to worry if she gets dirty.

My gd went through a stage of clearing her throat that stopped and then it was sniffing. That has stopped now too.
She was never good at drawing or painting and maths. She would get very tearful and put herself down, she also had an invisible friend she was about 7 when this all started she also saw a ginger haired lady in her bedroom.
She end up going to camhs and does suffer with mental health issues but she had a trauma in her life which brought all the above on. She’s now 18 but still has anxiety attacks.

My own GS had similar behaviors when he was about four or five. I remember one incident where H poured a bit of milk to his macaroni and cheese in order to cool it. He went berserk and refused to eat it until I prepared him a new one. His socks had to match his shirt and "Fidi", his favorite teddy bear couldn't sit on his bed unless it was next to "Bruder" the stuffed dog. If this condition wasn't met, he would become very upset, even unconsolable at times.

Today, he is sixteen, doing well in school and overall a very well adjusted, mature teen. No signs of OCD or any other such disorder.

Ran this one passed my daughter ,who is a child behavioural psychologist, working in the school environment. She thinks that one explanation could be the father who is Over anxious about dirt/ noise/ behaviour and is passing it on to daughter. Have a quiet word if I were you before her behaviour is fixed!

Many of us have mild OCD traits at stressful times in our lives. OCD is about feeling safe and rituals often make people feel safer in their environment or in certain situations .

CAMHS stands for Child and adolescent mental health service.

N I cannot say if this is OCD or not, but as a retired teacher I feel from your description that something is worrying this child.

Sudden tummy aches etc are often a child' s way of expressing anxiety and being upset if her writing and drawing is not perfect could point to the fact that someone has made her feel that she isn't good enough at school or at home.

I think you should encourage your daughter to have a word with the school - children are not always kind to one another, and school teachers sometimes make remarks that hurt. Being afraid to get dirty could be because the relationship between dirt and illness has been mentioned at school and misunderstood.

At your granddaughter's age, I came home from school one day and said we would all die unless a window in every room was kept open, as we would use up all the oxygen in closed rooms! "Teacher said so!" She didn't of course, she said that with 24 girls in a small classroom we needed the windows open for five minutes or so at regular intervals during the school day.

hi, my AC are autistic, some of the earliest signs were constant throat clearing, they are adults now so can explain it to me but for them its a sensitivitiy that means they don't like phelgm in their throats. The sound on Tv being an even number is also something that bothers them. you can have autistic traits, or just sensitivities. Best to have an expert opinion as you can handle things in specific ways depending on diagnosis.

It struck me straight away when I looked at your user name' anxiousgran' does anxiety run in your family.
It does in mine.

My grandson was like this, and he is fine now.
A big strapping lad who isn't bothered about anything much.

Sorry for multiple posting, but I don't think you should worry about not letting her dad know it could be his fault. He mustn't let her see any examples of the condition that he has. In fact, I think he should be (gently) told. It's the child who is important now.

Gabriella I think there should be something called Weird Personality Disorder. My son has it. Bless.

It does sound as though her dad might have it to a degree. He mustn't pass it on to her.

I think, to say that we are all at some point on the autistic scale is nonsense.
I'm not, neither was/is my ex nor OH, AC or GC.

OCD is one of the most horrible things to have. She sounds a sensitive little girl and they are the ones who can suffer. You are doing the right thing in encouraging her in dirty play. Good on you.

Whatever happens, don't let anyone mention germs to her, or give any indication that things like toilets, or tables in cafes, etc. might be harmful. You, and her parents, need to protect her against this condition if you possibly can.

Don't worry about the thumb sucking. My 14 year old GS has been known to be caught with his thumb back in his mouth!

All the very best to her.

Thanks for all your replies. It is comforting to know others have experiences like this.
I can talk to ds and dil easily about this, as they have both asked me what I think about dgds behaviour. Dil knows about gransnetters as I have asked your valuable advice before. .
I will suggest they ask her teacher to see if she notices anything.It is interesting about food intolerances Jaquie as dil has gluten intolerance
Hicas46 can you tell me what is CAMHS?
MiniMoon can you tell me what sensory processing traits are?
TeacherAnne and others, a diary is a good idea.
I will talk to ds. He does take ages washing his hands and both dgds have said “Daddy is slow at everything”!
He recognizes it in himself. Still, I will try not to let him think it is his fault.
I will stay off the googling and play down the autism, I think it will worry her parents.
There is an American book for children called Up and Dowm
the Worry Hill but not in print here.
Does anyone know of any books for young children about worrying. I can’t see any on Amazon.
Thanks again for all of your replies..

Most of the behaviours you describe apply to me! I like everything lined up and in its place, but I don't care if there is a thick layer of dust! I even count the bathroom tiles and garden steps dozens of times a day, but I don't have OCD. It would surprise me if your DGD did.

Good advice above. I can only say, if ever you have concerns about a child, see the Doctor. Keeping a diary of the problems you notice is a good idea but not essential. There could be many reasons why your DGD is behaving this way and she could very easily grow out of it. But if you have worries, try and have her checked out by the Doctor. Looking things up can be helpful, but there are so many conditions and symptoms that you can easily frighten yourself and become confused. At least she appears to be eating well and growing healthily. There may be nothing to worry about, but it doesn't help to live in fear.
Just persuade her mother to take her to the Doctor.

It sounds like some of this behaviour ( being upset when dirty) has been caused by your son telling her off for just being a child and doing childish things. Tell him to lighten up. Maybe he's the one needing the assessment.

Sorry I have no advice but My GS of a similar age is a bit like this. Very bright,usually delightful doing very well at school with lots of good friends but also can be anxious, he has to wear certain clothes, finds change hard, worries about following the rules. Needs to change his clothes if he gets dirty and can have tantrums if things are not going his way. I sometimes wonder if he is on the autistic spectrum but at other times I think it is just part of growing up and he is simply asserting himself. And stories from others about children outgrowing these sorts of behaviours does reassure me
I haven't said anything to his parents about my thoughts. It's very hard to know what to do for the best.

A child I know has similar characteristics. Parents waited and he is fine. Not outgrown, but not a problem either, He's clever, good at maths, puzzles, and computing. He clears his throat too, which is something that runs in the family. Does a particular food bring it on as it does for him? I think it's regular cows milk, so he has almond, or something like that. (Not soy)

He doesn't like getting his hands sticky or dirty either. Perhaps it is just uncomfortable.

But yes, see a doctor if you are really worried. The art of parenting is not easy, is it.