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Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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OCD, the acronym for obsessive-compulsive disorder, affects 1% - 3% of children in the United States (p.74). Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a clinical disorder categorized as an anxiety disorder, in which one is consumed by both unregulated obsessive thoughts and compulsions thus affecting one’s daily life activities (p.74). As described in the article, obsessions are “ recurring thoughts, impulses or images that exceed typical worries about real-life problems”; while as compulsions are “repetitive behavior or thoughts that an individual feels compelled to execute in response to an obsession.” This journal article discusses the symptoms and etiology of pediatric OCD before presenting the studies on the evidence-based treatment …show more content…

After observing my three year old nephew organize his toy cars in perfect alignment of each other, I start to wonder whether it may be possible that early symptoms of obsessiveness or compulsiveness could begin at such a young age, and, if not addressed, could develop and magnify over time into OCD. Unfortunately, this article only provided two case examples, with both clients exhibiting “just so” OCD symptoms (p.81-82). One example was a 10 year old girl who exhibited OCD symptoms through “rituals” (p.81), otherwise known as repetitive set of actions. The other was 17 year old girl who presented mild OCD symptoms such as “spelling words in her mind” and “picking at her nails” (p.82). In the beginning of the article, it highlighted how 1% - 3% of children are affected by OCD symptoms (p.74). To me, the article fell short of providing case studies. Should the article have covered a wider age range and varying degrees of OCD symptoms, the reader would be able to make his/her own assessment of how early OCD symptoms could possibly begin, and how it can vary from being “just so” to a severe case. For example, maybe taking a case study from 5 - 9 year old range with possible symptoms that could lead to OCD, another from the 10 - 14 year old range with “just so” or mild OCD but able to live a complete normal life, and lastly, from the 15 - 18 year old range with a severe case of OCD which is

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