Worried about my 6 year old son

[dave337]

Hello,

I am looking for some insight from you all as to whether I should be worried by my sons behaviour.  Generally speaking he is a happy, well socialised 6 year old although I would say he can be overly sensitive and a little anxious at times.  The reason for my worry is that twice in the last couple of weeks he has made a lot of noise after putting him to bed.  On going up to his room I have seen that he has piled a lot of random things (toys, clothes, books) at the end of his bed.  When asked why, he said that "his brain told him to to stop bad luck happening".  Having been perturbed by that and researching extensively since I am now convinced he is starting out on a long journey into OCD and all its challenges.  

My question really is - is it too early to try and seek help for him or am I being over anxious myself and there is another reason for this that is a normal part of a 6 year old's development? Has anyone heard of examples like this that spark briefly and then recede or indeed were just part of normal growing up?  Is it possible to have these types of compulsions without some degree of OCD.  The wording sounded so specific and illogcal that I can't see a normal reason for it.

Outside of those two instances he has been fine.  I am planning on sitting down with him and working through a book about managing worries to hopefully remove any root cause to see if that helps.

Really looking for advice on how best to proceed to do the best for him.

Thanks

[Wonderer]

Hiya! I'd just like to say I'm sorry ur so worried at the minute! My youngest son has just been diagnosed with OCD last week, he has been washing is hands to stop bad luck from happening for a while now. My older son had a funny little episode of intrusive thoughts around the titanic (bizarre) for a while when he was around 5, he's now 13 and has no other OCD symptoms since then and I don't feel a need to worry about him. So, as u can see two little boys, both had OCD symptoms at one stage but only one is diagnosed, so what ur son is experiencing could be something or nothing! There is absolutely no reason not to seek help, he can be assessed and if they don't feel there's a problem then great, but if there is then earlier intervention is key! Good luck xx

[dave337]

Hi Wonderer,

Thanks for responding and sharing - it means a lot.  I'm sorry to hear about your youngest's diagnosis - but at least you can start the process of getting them better.  Good luck.

I think my main problem is just not really being sure.  Obviously I want to help immediately if there is a problem, but equally I don't want to create an issue with putting huge focus on it if it actually is a brief phase like your oldest.  Waiting and observing is probably the best course - but pretty stressful and unbiased as I'll be seeing every little twitch or quirk as something new to worry about!

Dave

[Wonderer]

1 hour ago, dave337 said:

Hi Wonderer,

Thanks for responding and sharing - it means a lot.  I'm sorry to hear about your youngest's diagnosis - but at least you can start the process of getting them better.  Good luck.

I think my main problem is just not really being sure.  Obviously I want to help immediately if there is a problem, but equally I don't want to create an issue with putting huge focus on it if it actually is a brief phase like your oldest.  Waiting and observing is probably the best course - but pretty stressful and unbiased as I'll be seeing every little twitch or quirk as something new to worry about!

Dave

No worries! Yeah it could be a good idea to just observe for the next few weeks and see how he goes, but I don't know about where u live or anything but where I'm from waiting lists are lengthy for children's mental health services, so it might not be a bad idea for u to get a referral made and then if the symptoms go away then possibly cancel the appointment? It was absolute torture waiting for my sons appointment, it's so worrying and then help doesn't seem to come fast enough! I have been a lot stronger than I thought I would be about my sons diagnoses but I suppose it's kind of because I wasn't that shocked as I already had a fair idea and also because he's attending CAMHS now which to me means he's in the right place! I hope it's just a phase for ur son and remember to take a step back if u feel yourself becoming hyper vigilant to every little thing he does! Good luck xxx