Question
My son has Aspergers and OCD and he will have hand tremors that he is not aware of. I am trying a more holistic approach but this is not covered by insurance. I wish I knew which ones were beneficial and which ones are not beneficial.
Answer
Traditional treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder involves a combination of medication and behavioral therapy techniques. The traditional medicines used in this process are SSRI’s, or serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors.
Many parents do not want to treat their children suffering from OCD with these traditional methods, but turn to holistic methods of treatment. Because holistic therapies are designed to treat the whole person, not just the symptoms of a disease or disorder, holistic approaches appeal to many people. Holistic therapies can be added to traditional medical approaches, or can be tried by themselves.
Holistic practices often take into consideration lifestyle factors and address physical aspects of treatment, nutritional aspects, environmental, and social and spiritual elements. In seeking alternative treatments, take into consideration your beliefs and practices.
Holistic therapies for OCD are designed to relieve mental anguish. Many people find yoga and meditation to be effective in calming the mind and the body and strengthening the connection between the two. Aromatherapy can help a person reach a more peaceful and harmonious place. Hypnotherapy and acupuncture have also been found to be successful in treating various disorders. Behavioral therapies are often effective in conjunction with some of these alternative treatments.
In her book, “Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,” Tamar E. Chansky has created a step-by-step program designed to help parents work with children to free them from the cycle of OCD. This program was created with the goal of helping the child take back control of his life using these techniques. The techniques are designed to work with children who are either on or off medication. This method can be very effective in helping a child break free of this debilitating disorder.
It is difficult to say which holistic methods will work best with your child. Speak with your child’s physician and gain his help in creating a treatment plan for you child. Also solicit advice from trusted holistic practitioners who can suggest a holistic course of treatment.
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2 comments:
Wanted to get some input on my 6 1/2 year old son. He has been counting out loud incessantly for about 2 1/2 weeks and I'm getting concerned. I noticed it started out by just counting things he saw or the steps in our house or how many steps it would take to get to "X" location, but now it's all the time, even when we don't see anything to count.
He will be talking to us and then just start counting over and over again. Or he'll ask us a question and while we're answering, he's counting. He may count quietly to himself and then all of a sudden we will hear, "18, 19 & 20" and it's fast counting too. Even watching tv, he'll just start counting. Sometimes I see him counting while he's moving his fingers but mostly he's just reciting the numbers and it's always to 20. He can count to over 100 so it's not like he's practicing.
He has also said that he sees the numbers or fingers and or toes in his head.
I've asked him if he's aware of what's he's doing and he says he is but it's to the point where I don't think he's aware he's doing it or can control it. It's like he's multi-tasking.
I'm doing some research on OCD but wanted to get your opinions
My son also has OCD. He took Celexa for it, worked really well for him. With this type med (SSRI) it usually needs higher doses to treat the OCD than it does to treat depression. Prozac is in the same family as Celexa (SSRI). But each medication is still different, one may work well and another not, one may have unwanted side effects and another won't.
What does he feel he needs help with - the depression or the anxiety?
You could start with a medication for anxiety and see how the depression goes; not uncommon for people to need something for both. Odd thing about meds, is that even if one says it treats A, B and C, it may just help B with someone and they need an additional/different med to help treat C. Everyone is so "individual" as to how a med affects them personally. Maybe this link will help some:
http://www.anxieties.com/med-intro.php
Sounds like the anxiety is getting in the way, with anything that requires leadership or responsibility, even when it's obvious he may do well at it. Like if he was already showing leadership qualities and perhaps even leading, the actual position and responsibility is something he doesn't want to accept and he throws a wall up. I sorta get that, I'd rather help the leader than BE the leader myself.
Good for him for wanting meds. My 22 year old (Aspie/OCD) won't take any, feels he has to get past stuff himself. Even though the Celexa worked well for his OCD in high school, he'll now say that it didn't help, that the OCD just got better on its own or something. SIGH!
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