obsessive compulsive disorder and math

[pjssully]

I am at a loss as to what to do with my daughter who is 9. She has struggled with writing, spelling and math since K, though her reading and vocabulary are off the chart. Last year she went through a very difficult time with obsessive thoughts to the point where she could not do anything but read. We got her on meds. and it's better but still has symptoms--cant' be around certain foods, anxiety beyond what is normal, afraid of getting cancer (before meds, she was washing her hands so much!). Well here we are again, another year of school and i don't know what to do. She simply doesn't remember math facts and freezes when i pull out math facts. She does really well with the story problems but just can't handle the numbers on a page. She says her mind gets jumbled up and twisted and she can't think. I talked to her psychiatrist today and she thought it was due to O.C.D.yet others think this is not the case. Oh yeah, she also has a problem with the type of paper she uses--it has to be crisp, white-not recycled or yellow---it gives her headaches. Does anyone have any suggestions--of course i need to get her tested and i will do that.--but what can i do while i wait--what kind of math program should i use--what type of writing--would copy work and dictation be enough for her this year? I do know we will use All About Spelling so that's decided.

Any other suggestions?

pam

[8filltheheart]

My ds is extremely OCD and high anxiety. We are no where near a point where I can tell you what works! I can tell you what is helping. He has been going to cognitive behavioral therapy and for the first time it is something that is giving him mental tools to train himself how to control his thoughts. Meds have definitely only had a stabilizing effect on him. The CBT is giving him a life beyond simply coping. He is learning to control his whirling compulsive thoughts and focus.

 

Our ds is definitely not in control of himself. But we were in extreme despair a month ago and life has been getting calmer with the therapy.

 

Hugs to you. It is not easy.

[juls]

My son has Tourettes and some OCD. It's very hard to do academics if he is struggling with repetitive thoughts. No matter what curriculum or perfect paper you find there will always be something else that must be "just right." I would work on tweaking the meds to see if more improvements can be made. We use supplements instead of meds and have had some great results, although I'm tweaking right now too. It's a never ending process of helping my kid.

 

As for other suggestions, have you ever tried Times Tables and Addition the Fun Way by City Creek Press? http://www.citycreek.com/ They teach the facts as silly stories and may appeal more to your daughter.

 

Sometimes my heart just aches deeply over what my son has to struggle with. It's really difficult watching it and feeling helpless to make it all better. Hang in there though, you daughter needs you badly and is benefiting from all you do on her behalf. Take on day at a time.

 

HTH,

Juls

[JennW in SoCal]

Hi there,

 

I wanted to chime in about the benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy which my son recently started. It seems like a really practical way of taking control of those obsessive thoughts.

 

There are so many other ways to tackle math for now. Those City Creek Press books look fun, for instance. Does she mind the computer? My son liked a game called Math Blaster. What about a white board and colorful markers? You can be the scribe while she talks through a problem. There used to be a site -- 9 years ago when I started homeschooling -- that was nothing but math story prolems, something like mathstories.com. Have you tried skip counting with manipulatives? You can string beads or macaronis by 2s, or 3s, separating the groupings by a different color, then count up the total groups and the total beads. There's lots of math picture books, too, like all those Anno books (can't think of the titles, but the character Anno or Ano is the hero in them all).

 

I'd stick to what works, and find some adaptation for everything else while you get her meds and perhaps some therapy worked out.

 

I'm glad you got some reponses here -- this OCD thing is new for me though we've had other special needs issues over the years so I'm an old hand at adaptations!