I may be overreacting but this is really bothering me. For the last few weeks my daughter won't do anything (brush her teeth, potty, run to the end of the street etc) without doing this hand routine. She rubs her hands together, puts her hands under armpits, touches her knees, and then touches her belly button. Its was no big deal at first but it has gotten old and a bit weird now. She has also starting washing her hands every few minutes to get the germs off (after she has her finger up her nose). Part of me thinks that hand washing thing is just her preschool teacher telling her to always wash your hands. But it is all the time! What about the hand routine that she must do before any task? Should I just let this go with the idea that any attention to it will only make it worse or should red flags be going up? Also, she has mild motor planning disorder which means she has a hard time forming a plan in her head on how she is going to complete a task. But it has never given us a problem like this. Usually, she just struggles to decide how to climb up the ladder or to decide how to get onto a swing. Please help.
I echo Savannah's suggestion. Please get her tested for strep as soon as possible. It is rare, but potentially very serious. Please see: "Saving Sammy: the Boy Who Caught OCD"
Motor planning and some occasional OCD is a common issue. My son is in OT because of such. Intervention at an early age is key. We regularly go to IPT in Dallas and love the staff and experience we have had there. Best of luck.
Make sure that you don't try to stop her doing this behavior - often, calling attention to it will just make it worse. Like another mom said, just give her no attention at all when she does those things (positive or negative), and watch her for the next few weeks/months. Only if she's still persisting should you probably get her evaluated, I think. Kids do odd things sometimes, and the more we try to change them the more they fight back (of course I'm not referring to obedience issues, but rather personality issues). For example, the last thing you want to do to a stutterer is gripe at them to spit their words out and hurry up. Anyway, God be with you as you figure this out!
This might be the routine that she has come up with to get herself "started". I know a friend of mine who is a speech therapist told me that a person with a stutter, will use a phrase to get their speech going...I am no doctor, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to get her in to see one.
I highly recommend you contact your school district and get her professionally evaluated. The sooner you get her help, the better off she will be. This isn't a normal stage for a 4 year old and the fact that she seems compelled to do these things before each activity indicates something is going on. Also, since you already know she has one developmental problem, I would not ignore this. Occasionally having these sorts of behaviors - i.e., periodically going through a hand washing phase wouldn't be a problem but your note indicates this is persistent rather than sporadic. The good news is that they know alot about OCD now and the maybe even better news is that OCD folks are often extremely detail oriented and very intelligent, so this predisposition isn't so bad as long as it doesn't interfere with normal activity.
Try ignoring completely and giving no attention about it whatsoever. If it persists for more than a few weeks past that, seek help from someone quailified to make a decision on if it is a problem. Good luck. I hope it is just a phase but it may not be.
As the wife of someone with OCD, while its a livable disorder, it can disrupt daily life and cause the person with the disorder difficulties when they need to complete a specific task and for whatever reason are unable to. It can be VERY frustrating for the person who has it AND those who love them. My hubby and I have over the years gotten to the point where we can joke openly about it, but it took some time and understanding to get there.
As well, the best advice I got from a doctor was not to be an enabler. It gives wings to the disorder and often will exacerbate the conditon. Also, when your daughter, for whatever reason, elimates on OCD tendancy, a new one will sprout up in its place, so its a never ending cycle. Also, the more I feed in to my hubby's disorder, the more OCD tendancies he seems to develop. Therefore, when he calls (several times a night) to make sure that doors are locked, stove is off, garage door got closed, etc. I kindly tell him he knows that these things are fine and that I will not go and check for him. He has learned to trust himself a bit more knowing the he KNOWS they are ok.
I guess my suggestion would mostly entail having her pediatrician recommend someone well versed in this disorder for you to schedule a visit with. It definately sounds like a manifestation of OCD, but as one other poster pointed out, its not the end of the world. OCD people are usually VERY thorough and intelligent (my hubby is a police officer and his disorder has helped him because it causes him to be VERY thorough) and can function easily in life once there is an understanding of what is going on. Its also important for you, as the parent, to understand this disorder so that you can help her cope well with it.
Good luck to you and your daughter...It DOES take some getting used to, but in the grand scheme of things, if this is the very worst medical issue she has, she's waaaay better off.
Has she had strep lately? There are cases (rare... but cases) where kids develop these OCD tentencies after being exposed to strep. Might be worth checking out.
I would talk to her Dr. it may have to do with her motora planning disorder or another issue. Early intervention is important if something is wrong.
Hand washing I would say is no biggie probably from school-my daughter brings home things from school to but the other OCD routine I would look into.
Good luck
I feel compelled to respond because my 15 year old daughter had similar tendencies when she was younger. And quite honestly she still does! Her thing was flapping her hands whenever she got excited and, she would also run/gallop through the house a lot. And to this day she still zips through the house especially when listening to music. Do you know why? Because it is her way of thinking. Is she OCD? Maybe even a little ADHD? Perhaps. But I never got her evaluated because I didn't see any evidence that it was effecting her in some detrimental way. So what was the point of bringing her to the doctor and getting her labeled? And yes it was driving me nuts, but eventually I realized so what? If it is an important routine to her, than fine. I'm not going to make her feel self-conscious about it. She ultimately outgrew the hand flapping. And she is an intelligent and very creative girl. She is in the gifted program in high school. Her grades have never been impacted by her sometimes odd behaviors. She has friends. She is a gentle person. And she is always thinking.
So I think my point in all this is, that unless you see it having a negative impact on her in any way (aggressiveness, withdrawing from social activity, extremely hard time concentrating or focusing, etc.), then just let it go. But if it gives you peace of mind to bring her to a doctor and apply a label to her behavior, then that is OK too.
My child is developmentally delayed, especially in the fine motor skills. In addition, he is defiant and aggressive. We had ECI involved when he was 2 1/2 and then they recommended him going to another therapist after he turned 3 years old. He's been getting Occupational Therapy since he's been 3 years old. His fine motor skills have improved dramatically since he has been in therapy. We also go to the Child Study Center, I would highly recommend going here. There is a waiting list to get an appointment/evaluation, but it is so worth the wait. You get to meet with a Developmental Pediatrician and she can do tests and talk with you and get specifics on your childs behavior. Then, she tells you her opinion on what's going on and how to treat it. Our child's defiance and aggression is being treated with medicine and it is helping. I hated to use medicine, but we have tried all we know what to do to help him. We are moving to a new therapy provider and they eventually want to get him off the medicine for the aggression.
My recommendations are:
1.) Make an appointment at the Child Study Center-on Lancaster in Fort Worth
2.) request for an evaluation concerning the motor planning delays
3.) School-does she go to preschool?- If so, is it a public school- if it is, request for testing
4.) If your insurance won't pay for the Chid Study Center or it gets to be too long of wait for an appointment, go to a Psychologist for testing and/or a Psychiatrist for possible medicine to help with the OCD.
5.) Get play therapy for your child and see the therapist as a Mother and if possible Dad could come also. The Play Therapist can get to know your child by playing with them and tell you things that she is seeing. You can talk to the therapist (alone) and get help from the therapist as far as the repetitive behaviors and how to handle them.
6.) We are going to Therapeutic Life Skills in Arlington for Occupational Therapy, this may be something you want to check out and see if they can help your child.
No, I wouldn't let this go, as the problem will get worse and it needs to be addressed. It certainly sounds like she is obsessive compulsive about the hand washing and hand routine. Does anyone else in your family have this problem?
Another suggestion is to go to the library and see what books are out there about Obessive Compulsive Disorder in children, maybe written from a parents point of view or a therapists point of view?
The ARC is a good organization to belong to for children who have disabilities, that would be a good place for you to get support. They have a support group.
There is a special needs Meet Up group that you can join and go talk and meet with other parents of kids with disabilities/mental health issues,etc... Just go to Meet Up.com and search for the Parents of Special Needs Children.
I'll be praying for you and your family. Hope you can get the help that your child needs quickly.
