Some Fierce OCD-ness This Way Dwells

 

Charlie has been listening to one Disney album over, over and over pretty much for the past few weeks so, having heard Phil Collins singing selections from Tarzan once too often -- and noting Charlie only turning on that same album, and struggling through his Tuesday from, among other things, a heavy feeling in the air due to an impending storm -- I took the album off the iPad. That led to a very consternated Charlie asking for 'blue Disney' while pushing the iPad towards me so I put a few of the songs back on. Charlie still kept asking for 'blue Disney' again and again but, after over an hour, sadly let the matter go and Jim and I were reminded of how often throughout his life Charlie has been stuck on some thing (a red spot of paint, the green shirt and blue shorts) and we have had to, with great parent misgivings but a somber feeling of 'got to help our boy move on,' step in and shake things up.

Indeed, I often consider addressing this fierce OCD-ness a central feature of parenthood, autismland-style.

Comments

[Melanie Harper]

Oh, so true. It's my boy's OCD that is the greatest barrier to his integration into a more typical daily life, than anything else that seems more "autism-y." He gets locked into a pattern and woe unto ye who tries to break the OCD pattern. Tried Prozac, it made the OCD and stims worse, so now will try Lexapro. *ugh*

[Louise]

Do you think that his constant demand for bike riding is OCD-inspired? It seems as if he would spend every waking minute on his bike with Dad, if he could! On one hand, it lets him expend some of the ferocious energy of the early adolescent. But he also ends up in distress if he can't get a-bike when he wants to.

How do you balance it? Are you attempting to bring any other sort of physical activity into his awareness - something that he won't have to wait for Jim for? (Swimming didn't seem to go so well.