• Approximately 75-80% of children OCD have at least one co-existing disorder, such as depression, anxiety, AD/HD, and/or Tourette Syndrome.

  • Two of the top difficulties students with OCD experience are doing homework and concentrating in class.

  • The large majority of school personnel have encountered – or will encounter – students with OCD in their classrooms.

  • Although a common psychiatric illness in childhood, OCD frequently goes unrecognized by teachers, parents, and other caregivers.

  • The typical school-aged child spends approximately 1,100 hours per year in the school setting.

  • Left untreated, OCD not only may persevere but also poses a risk for the development of other psychiatric disorders.

  • At any given point in time, OCD affects approximately 1 in 100 children.

  • Obsessions can include fears of contamination, harm, illness, or death; intrusive thoughts about harming oneself or others; excessive religious fears; a compelling need for symmetry or order; and obsessive doubt.

  • School personnel may be the first to recognize that a student is experiencing difficulties with OCD.

  • Difficulties often associated with OCD include problems with sleep, somatic symptoms (e.g., tenseness, shaky hands), psychosocial functioning, and family stress.

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, is an anxiety disorder characterized by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions.

  • … well-researched and very thorough with the complexity of OCD easily explained for educators, parents, and therapists. 

    Louise Dabkey, M.S.Ed., CAS, NCSP

  • What a difference this book will make. There is nothing like it out there… I look forward to seeing a copy in every classroom.

    Tamar Chansky, Ph.D.

  • This is an urgently-needed and inspirational book that offers hope through knowledge. The lives of children struggling with OCD will never be the same.

    Gail S., Parent of a child with OCD

  • With exquisite detail and organization, Dr. Adams presents guidelines for educators to help students and their families find relief from OCD.

    Ellen Sawyer, Executive Director OCD Chicago

  • …a must-have for school professionals. I’m so glad there will finally be a guide for school professionals and parents to turn to.

    Eric Storch, Ph.D.

  • Everyone interested in helping children with OCD navigate the educational system—school personnel, parents, and mental health professionals—will find the material in this book invaluable.

    John March, MD, MPH
Header_Basics

OCDBasics

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, is an anxiety disorder characterized by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions. Obsessions and compulsions are time-consuming, cause significant distress, and/or interfere with a person’s daily life (e.g., school, work, social activities, relationships).

Obsessions are recurrent and persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses, or images that intrude into a person’s thinking. Common obsessions include worries about contamination; fears of harm, illness, or death; intrusive thoughts about harming oneself or others (even though there is no intent to do so); excessive religious fears; a compelling need for symmetry or order; and obsessive doubt.

Compulsions, also known as rituals, consist of repetitive, purposeful behaviors or mental acts that individuals perform to relieve, prevent, or undo the anxiety or discomfort created by the obsessions. In some cases, rituals are carried out to prevent some dreaded event or situation from happening. Common compulsions include excessive washing, cleaning, checking, repeating, reassurance seeking, confessing, counting, and avoiding objects, substances, or situations that trigger fear or discomfort. Even though they cannot be observed, mental rituals such as mental praying, counting, or repeating words silently may be present, and can be every bit as disruptive and distressing as overt rituals.

Prevalence, age of onset, gender issues
OCD once was considered a rare disorder. We now know it is not. Current estimates suggest that at any given point in time, approximately 1 in 50 adults and 1 in 100 children has OCD. Although sources vary as to the reported age of onset for OCD, two peak ages of onset have been suggested:

  1. an early onset between the ages of 6 and 15 years of age, characterized by a predominance of males, and
  2. a late onset between 20 and 29, characterized by a preponderance of females. By later adolescence or adulthood, there is no substantial difference between the genders with regard to the prevalence of OCD.

Causes, associated disorders/problems
OCD is a neurobiological disorder for which a definitive cause has yet to be identified. It is believed that OCD likely is the result of a combination of biological, genetic, behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factors that trigger the disorder in a specific individual at a particular point in time. More often than not, OCD co-occurs with other neurobiological disorders such as anxiety, depression, AD/HD, and/or Tourette Syndrome. In addition, OCD frequently is associated with a number of other difficulties, including problems with psychosocial functioning, executive functioning, family stress, and sleep.

Evaluation, treatment
Because it is a psychiatric illness, OCD can be diagnosed only by a health professional after a comprehensive evaluation is conducted. The cornerstone of treatment for OCD is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), alone or in combination with medication. Experts in pediatric OCD recommend CBT as the first line of treatment for children and adolescents with mild to moderate cases of OCD and a combination of CBT and medication for severe cases. OCD treatment often includes a number of adjunct therapies such as support groups and supportive psychotherapy for the individual and family members. Very importantly, whenever a school-aged child has OCD, educational interventions may be required. Indeed, unless and until OCD-related school issues are addressed, treatment for children and adolescents with OCD is incomplete.