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Hi there. First post. Transitioning problems and Saliva retention?

Helge

Hi Everyone. I would be ever so grateful if someone could shed some light on a problem, please. For the last couple of years my 16 year old daughter has has serious transitioning problems whereby she will go forwards and backwards many times before entering a room (often enertring backwards), going up stairs, getting in & out of a car etc. She has to perform a ritual of hopping up & down, leaning back,  and psyching herself up to do it.  She often resets herself by taking a couple of steps backwards, and will turn light switches on/off many times when entering/leaving a room. Its like a form of OCD, and I am thinking maybe anxiety driven. During the last 2 years she has also taken to withholding her saliva in her mouth, until it is full, and then she proceeds to deposit all the collected saliva onto the back of her hand, to then run down her arm! Very unsightly! We have been to the GP and tried various medicines, botox injected into the saliva glands etc but not effect. She has also tried taking gaviscon continuously for a fortnight in case her condition was gastro related, again without success at all. She is currently on the waiting list for an endoscopy to investigate matters further. Anyone else had similar experiences?

Parents

  • The first behaviours you describe certainly sound like they could be OCD and very likely anxiety driven. Have you spoken to your GP about that?

    Can your daughter explain why she is doing the saliva thing? Is it something she can't help? Is it a compulsion? Is it actually something sensory? The doctors seem to be treating it as a physical condition but I'm wondering whether it's not? I'm not medically trained so can't give medical advice but I have met quite a few autistic children who spit or similar due to either the sensory experience or trying to avoid the sensory feeling in their mouth. I just wonder whether it may be similar?

  • in reply to Expecto_Patronum

    Thanks sooooo much for your reply. GP has made a referral to CAMMS (still waiting). We visited a private psychiatrist who has prescribed Sertraline for the last year, which seemed to calm both actions down a bit, but its now creeping back. He was pediatrically trained, although not with an ASD background. He did not seem to think it was OCD based. Due to her autism, we would not get a clear answer from our daughter if she was asked why she does these things, and there is a good chance she would not know why she does it anyway. Its a full on compulsion which she cannot help doing. She has also recently taken to running her hand under any water tap she passes, to replicate the feeling of the saliva on her arm, I am guessing! She also puts her fingers down her throat quite often when her anxiety levels are running very high. Hoping the endoscopy will answer the last question remaining if the condition is medically related or not, rather than sensory/mental. I do not think she minds the feeling of spit in her mouth, as she will only spits out the saliva down her arm when her mouth is so full it cannot hold anymore. All very confusing but I feel sure there must be an answer to it all somewhere. I wondering if the two conditions are related in some way, maybe?

  • in reply to Helge

    The fact she does the same with a tap suggests there is some kind of sensory experience she is enjoying with the liquid on her arm. Or it could be related to the OCD type behaviours. But definitely a good idea to check medically first and rule out that.

    Can I ask did the psychiatrist give reasons as to why he didn't think it was OCD? I have worked with children that were diagnosed with OCD who exhibited similar behaviours so I'm intrigued.

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  • in reply to Helge

    The fact she does the same with a tap suggests there is some kind of sensory experience she is enjoying with the liquid on her arm. Or it could be related to the OCD type behaviours. But definitely a good idea to check medically first and rule out that.

    Can I ask did the psychiatrist give reasons as to why he didn't think it was OCD? I have worked with children that were diagnosed with OCD who exhibited similar behaviours so I'm intrigued.

Children
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