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

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

  • 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.

  • 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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.

  • …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.
parents

Parents

You may have a child who has just been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Perhaps your child hasn’t received a formal diagnosis but exhibits OCD-like behaviors at home, school, or in the community. Maybe your child’s OCD is interfering with school functioning, but educators don’t understand OCD or know how to help your child. It may even be that you never recognized anything unusual about your son’s or daughter’s behavior, but he or she confided in you about having strange thoughts and a need to do unusual things. Regardless of your situation, the single, best thing you can do for your child’s education, happiness, and long-term well-being is to arm yourself with powerful information. Students with OCD: A Handbook for School Personnel can help.

Not just for educators, this book will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of childhood OCD and show you how school professionals, with your collaboration, can help your son or daughter succeed in school. The OCD Handbook will help parents:

  • Identify common signs and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • Learn about the most up-to-date research on the causes of OCD and cutting-edge treatments
  • Understand OCD does not mean your child is abnormal or of below-average intelligence – and neither you nor your child is at fault
  • Prevent long-term issues that can result when early-onset OCD is left untreated
  • Work with school personnel to create, execute, and monitor school-based interventions to support your child academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally
  • Become aware of federal laws that entitle students with OCD to special education and other school services

In addition, you may find that Students with OCD: A Handbook for School Personnel is a must-have resource for the school staff who work with your child.
OCD is a manageable disorder for which awareness and understanding is the first step to recovery. Many students with OCD achieve remarkable success when parents and school personnel work together. Your part begins here.