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Unhealthy Obsessions

ParentingAutism

I understand obsessions are common in autistic people, correct me if I'm wrong. My daughter goes through phases of what she is obsessed with but they are healthy. One thing she has always been obsessed with are people and it gets really unhealthy. 

For example, she became obsessed with the security guys, which I didn't have an issue with, except that she would leave the caravan hours before the entertainment started so that she's there the minute they arrive. 

She has always obsessed over some teachers. In her previous schools, she want always walk round the school, walking past where their teaching and will do that most of the day, she couldn't cope in class so she would walk the school. In the end she memorised the teachers timetable and when they weren't teaching, she was wandering the corridors 'bumping' into them. She's always been obsessed with P.E/Sport teachers. 

A couple years ago, she was fixated on police and paramedic programs and we found ourselves in the worst times of our life. She would put herself in positions where she would need their help and support and new how to get it. Sometimes the emergency services would be called by the public or sometimes directly by my daughter. 

Since she has started this school, she has changed and it is good. But since day 1, she has become obsessed with some staff. Her Sport teachers, and a member of staff she sees regularly. I'm worried because she's taking it a bit too far. She talks about them every day, which is fine, just gets a bit boring. But she knows what cars they have, no one has told her. She knows information about one of their houses, how many sheds it's got. She knows the area in where this same teacher lives, and possibly the road. I don't know what to do. She has the best time with these 3 staff and is always happy. They know her the best. These are the only people she'll talk to about issues, which is great. But these are the only people who will hold/restrain her. When she is held, whoever is holding her will be swapped out so certain staff can step in. 

What can I do? She goes through phases of obsessing with things but she's always obsessed with people. 

  • in reply to Sporadic Sparkly

    Thank you for your response. Its shed a bit of light on this situation. Unfortunately her GP isn't the best and she isn't with CAMHS anymore and I'm not going back to them. Thank you. 

  • What do Police, Paramedics, PE/Sports have in common? I might start making a list. Write it down in a notebook and continue to write down new discoveries. Mother to Mother, her role is not to entertain you ('boring'). Your job is to notice the things which make her 'tick' and help inspire her future career path and whole being. Being obsessed with details is a highly sought after trait for MI5. A quick Google search for physically active jobs which require attention to detail will bring up a list of possibilities. For now, what she is exposed to is limiting her natural capacity to critically evaluate, so stunted proclivity to analysation will ONLY result in what appears as "obsessions".  

    She might someday have an amazing career as a presenter for the Olympics or as a correspondent during emergencies. Imagine someone who is highly respectful of these sort of figures and also has this pristine ability to recollect the most seemingly 'mundane' details. In a high speed police chase, she may be able to report all drivers, what their car engines are capable of, what their personalities might falter at, who would be best to manoeuvre in back and who should be leading the charge. As a presenter for the Olympics, the smallest details of highly trained athletes afford the broadcaster with these win the ticket of coverage. 

    We know from previous posts your daughter is Highly Active. Is it possible she's not getting the amount of physical exertion she actually needs? ADHD children are often restricted from getting the physical exercise their physiology requires and their health greatly suffers. Both ADHD children and Autistic children CAN have the capacity to intake a wealth of knowledge and integrate it at a much more rapid rate than their peers. Under stimulation mentally, especially when ill-presented (no fundamental physics for instance) or when someone is being dismissed will create this effect of obsession/compusion. There is always a cause to every effect. 

  • This brings back memories for me of an obsession I had with one particular teacher. To put it into context, I was a teenager (about 15 or 16) with raging hormones and had a major crush on him. Prior to this, I had been curious about other teachers, but it had only ever gone as far as being curious about the cars they drove.

    I had discovered that this teacher lived in my town, so I had searched for him in a telephone directory. This was a few decades ago when almost everyone had a landline telephone and mobiles phones looked like bricks. My search through the telephone directory resulted in me finding out his address (as well as his phone number). I purchased an A-to-Z and realising he lived fairly local to me, I took to cycling back and forth past his house, on the off-chance that I might accidentally-on-purpose bump into him. My parents had absolutely no idea that I was doing this.

    As a parent, I can understand why your daughter's obsession with people is a growing concern; the fear as to how far she will go with her obsessions. I honestly don't know what to suggest. If she is with CAMHS, might it be worth having a discussion with them? Or even with her GP? Whilst the GP might not be able to personally offer any helpful advice, they might be able to point you in the direction of someone who might.