Reply To: just signed up, daughter 15 not sure if ocd or more anxiety

[Natasha]

Hi Brian,
Welcome to the community! It was nice to see you and her on the calls today. It can be tricky because lots of autistic traits can be misinterpreted as OCD.

Is her hair twirling possibly an anxious or soothing habit?

I have seen autistic kids need to read things out loud (including billboards) or say their thoughts out loud. I wonder if that is more about her autism than OCD. I would try to see what is driving the behavior. With OCD there would be an intrusive thought/feeling attached, when it is due to be autistic there isn’t that component per se.

With her perfectionism I would get to the core thought driving the behavior as well. What happens if she is less than perfect? I would perhaps due some exploring in these areas before we decide which course is better.

Here are some resources that can help:
https://atparentingcommunity.com/courses/resources-core-fear/

Perfectionism:
https://youtu.be/3jPoclAMCAE

I do have a kids and teens course on OCD (it is not part of what members get. It is in my online school at ATparentingsurvivalschool.com). I’m not sure at this point if that would be appropriate for her.

If she would be willing to do a workbook, These can be helpful:
https://www.amazon.com/Self-Compassion-Workbook-Teens-Mindfulness-Self-Criticism/dp/1626259844/

https://www.amazon.com/Perfectionism-Workbook-Teens-Activities-Anxiety/dp/1626254540/