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School suspect OCD

ParentingAutism

Hi all, hope you are doing well. We are finally getting to the bottom of the behavior of my 15 y.o daughter. Today the school suspected my daughter has OCD but I don't know whether to agree with it or not. They explained that this is one of the main reasons to her behavior but I don't know if that's true. 

Today, her day was good, for once, but her lessons on a Monday are usually quite messy. She completed the work but leaves the mess to her staff. And she makes them wash and tidy up depending on the mess. But this afternoon, she has a Sport lesson, on-site because she can't go offsite, and the first hour they were chatting, then the next, they went to play corridor ball, which is football in the corridor, but instead she was more worried about the mess in the corridor. Anything on the wall being wonky and not straight, or in the wrong place on the door or wall, took things off which don't have to be on there in her eyes, she also ripped a display board, which she keeps doing, but because it was 'messed up' and it was overlapping and wasn't perfect. So for an hour this afternoon she was making sure everything was perfect and put some of her sensory toys in the bin because it wasn't good enough and her staff had to cut the string off her jumper. 

School is worried because she hasn't been this picky and they suspect it's the reason why she takes things off the wall and destroys display boards. They also said that she was getting annoyed, frustrated and upset with it and was just stressed out. She sits in the sensory room most of the time in school and they think it's because it's relaxing and because it is basically mess free and tidy. They suspect OCD but I do my know what to think because it could also be a mix of a lot of things. She is like it at home but not as bad as at school. I don't know what to do next. I'm leaving it for now to see what happens. 

Parents

  • I don't think I have OCD, but I do believe my autism drives me to some behaviours that might look OCD... small things like making sure the coffee cups on the shelf are grouped by colour and have the handles angled the same way. I also get frustrated at mess... I am not overly worried about cleanliness, but I get stressed if things do not appear tidy or are not put away in the designated place.

    I suspect a few reasons for this:

    A need to control my environment (to avoid surprises). I tend to set up processes for everything (say making a cuppa), so if the red mug is not on the correct shelf it throws me.

    I am forgetful, so I rely on things being in the correct, logical spot so I can find them.

    I am clumsy, so if there is mess I tend to stumble, step on things, break stuff etc.

    I am demand avoidant - if I am trying to avoid a task that is making me anxious, I find doing certain trivial chores soothing (like lining up all the coffee cup handles)... it lessens the guilt of not doing the thing that I really should be doing!

    All of the above gets much worse if I am in "defense mode" and close to meltdown.

Reply

  • I don't think I have OCD, but I do believe my autism drives me to some behaviours that might look OCD... small things like making sure the coffee cups on the shelf are grouped by colour and have the handles angled the same way. I also get frustrated at mess... I am not overly worried about cleanliness, but I get stressed if things do not appear tidy or are not put away in the designated place.

    I suspect a few reasons for this:

    A need to control my environment (to avoid surprises). I tend to set up processes for everything (say making a cuppa), so if the red mug is not on the correct shelf it throws me.

    I am forgetful, so I rely on things being in the correct, logical spot so I can find them.

    I am clumsy, so if there is mess I tend to stumble, step on things, break stuff etc.

    I am demand avoidant - if I am trying to avoid a task that is making me anxious, I find doing certain trivial chores soothing (like lining up all the coffee cup handles)... it lessens the guilt of not doing the thing that I really should be doing!

    All of the above gets much worse if I am in "defense mode" and close to meltdown.

Children
  • in reply to moon

    Thank you, I have seen this in my daughter as well. Needs to have the right spoon, plate, bowl, cup or whatever to eat and drink out of. Hangers and clothes need to be the right way in the right place. Coats have to be on the right hook. If something isn't clean or has been clean and put straight on the kitchen sides it will be put back in the dishwasher. Everything has a place and she just like to be tidy.