How to Spot Signs of OCD in a Child

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) manifests through repeated obsessions or compulsions, which ultimately impair a person's ability to function. While many people associate OCD with adults, it can present in children.

Instructions

• 1

  Look for ritualistic patterns in your child's behaviors, such as repeated hand washing, grooming or teeth brushing. Common rituals also include strict regimens for leaving the house, doing homework, going to sleep or cleaning.

• 2

  Watch for a persistent concern with collecting objects, such as rocks. Some children collect items, and then repeatedly count them or line them up in a row.

• 3

  Be alert to avoidance behaviors. Children with OCD may avoid specific things, such as a particular number or a particular street. Children also avoid items or people perceived as unclean.

• 4

  Examine your child's need for symmetry in the environment. Children with OCD sometimes require their clothes to be symmetrical or they may want the furniture in their room to be symmetrical.

• 5

  Check your child's school work for excessive erasures or cross-outs. Some children go over their writing repeatedly, until there's a hole in the page.

• 6

  Observe the amount of time your child engages in the behavior of concern. OCD is diagnosed when the behaviors are repeated and long term.

• 7

  Reflect on whether there have been any environmental changes, including starting a new school or the death of a loved one. Such episodes may trigger the onset of OCD.