nevergiveup

Thank you OB1, Gemma and Snowbear ? OB1 I hope you won't mind my asking, but was your late diagnosis due to you feeling unable to speak to someone about it/withdrawal from life? (Sorry if I've not worded that very well x) Thanks for the links Gemma I've started to have a browse through the info and also the magazine, there's so very useful help/info. It was also helpful to understand from your perspective why my son perhaps avoids conversation etc, thanks x Ands thanks Snowbear for the ideas on how I might be able to try to engage with Liam regarding his difficulties, so that even if he still feels unable to talk about his thoughts within the family, if we gently continue to talk about/discuss these sort of things in random conversation then it might just help in planting a seed of hope and help him to eventually feel able to talk about it (hoping that makes sense). Thanks again.. Just another thought in relation to my son's sensory difficulties, could this be contributing to his OCD? Or perhaps exist alongside OCD? He really struggles with the sensory side of things for example he mentioned yesterday that he want to borrow my toe spacers (for when you paint your toenails to separate your toes) so that he doesn't sweat between his toes because he doesn't like it, and he mentioned not liking it when his armpits sweat? It appears like a combination of sensory and OCD because I'm aware of his dislike of his own and others bodily fluids and them touching/coming into contact with him (if that makes sense) x

Hi OB1 Thanks for welcoming me and for your reply.. much appreciated.. thank you too for your kind words. It can be really hard sometimes, but I try to remain as positive as I can and hopeful that I will help him find a way through so that he feels he can access the outside world again so to speak. It sounds like you yourself had alot your were carrying inside throughout your childhood/adolescent years, although it sounds like you have worked hard in working through your thoughts and feelings. It must have been difficult.. Liam is on the waiting list (again) for CAMHs although I'm not sure when he will eventually be seen. I have been looking into private help/therapy but it's hard knowing what kind of help/therapy to seek. Liam has an EHCP (education and healthcare plan) and through that we've had the involvement over several months of an educational therapist, an occupational therapist and an inclusion facilitator none of which he engaged with. They each worked with me offering tools and resources to try with Liam (CBT, Sensory activities, emotion and resilience tools), but he simply refused by way of closing down the conversation/changing the subject and/or pushing me away. It's really difficult because everything seems so ingrained within him now, I keep chipping away trying to find indirect ways in through fun and laughter, and games/play things he enjoys, but to no avail. I guess at least he's engaging in play with me albeit only via the XBox and on the odd occasion a kick about in the garden. Better than nothing.. It is heart wrenching watching him perform his OCD behaviours/rituals, and struggling with the additional difficulties, and his occasional tears of frustration and I wish he would let me in to help. Thanks for listening x

Hi, I'm new here.. I'm mum to my 15 year old son with OCD. He doesn't have a diagnosis as yet, but he appears to present with contamination OCD (from the various articles I have read and the behaviours he displays). He has slowly withdrawn from family life, the community, and hasn't been in school (due to anxiety/school refusal) for the last 4 years, and has refused to engage with any professionals who have tried to work with him over the same period of time. He has regressed even further with the current Covid-19 situation. I want to be able to help him, but I'm really not sure where to begin as he also has Dyslexia, Sensory difficulties and Social Anxiety, all of which appear to overlap with one another, as well as sleep difficulties (settles between 1-3am in the morning, and wakes between 1-3pm the next day), and eating issues (limited food intake). On top of all this, from his perspective everything is, for want of a better word, 'normal' and nothing is wrong. When I try to talk to him about his behaviours in as indirect way as possible he tends to either shut me down and push me away saying he' busy, or will change the subject of conversation, and sometimes will tell me to stop talking such psychobabble when I mention anything to do with how he's feeling or what he's thinking. How can I help, when he perceives that nothing is wrong? Any help, advice, shared experiences would be very much appreciated x