OCD Or Just a Child Thing

I wouldn't rush her to therepy. I have a step son who is 18 now and and has never had his food touch. He is particular in sharing food etc but this is just him we all have quirks. My other son who is also 18 used to have a fit when it was time to change from shorts to long pants for winter. He did this every year when he was younger. His socks would bother him so he would turn them inside out for years. Again just a quirky thing. My daughter who is 17 used to wear nothing but those spandex type pants (leggings from Target) for years because she hated how the regular pants felt. She would cry because her pony tail wasn't just right and went to school in tears sometimes. My 5 year old gets attached to a shirt and wears it for a while then gets attached ot another shirt or pants and such.

Don't fret she will grow out of it.

I would talk to her pediatrician about it, it doesn't sound normal. I know alot of ppl who have the food not touching issue but that is just one small piece of what you describe. I wonder if she could be allergic to cotton or something like that and maybe the clothes itch her, or maybe she is allergic to the detergent you are using. That is the only alternate explanation I can think of.

J.,
I am a certified parent coach and have worked with a few other parents with issues like this. I like the idea of picking out the clothes the night before...also it sounds encouraging that you said it helps some. What else do you do that seems to work with her? Is this an issue that has just come up or has it gone on for some time? If it did come up all of a sudden, when was that? Was there a change or event surrounding the issue? Have you asked her to sit down with you and come up with a plan that could help her?

J.-

You should definitely take your daughter to see a psychologist or developmental pediatrician. What you describe could be a sensory integration disorder, OCD, mild autism or probably a number of other conditions.

Good Luck,
K.

Since I'm not a doctor, I obviously can't diagnose, but I did want to share my own experience.

I am 30 years old and I am nearly positive that I have OCD. I am currently booking an appointment to be officially tested. That having been said...

When I was young, like your daughter I did the EXACT same things. Before I learned to tie my shoes, and my mom would do it (and really even after I learned), I would cry every time because she would tie one and then the other and it wouldn't be as tight or it would be tighter than the first one. So, we would have to redo them, over and over. I STILL have this issue, only I don't cry about it anymore, I just keep retying.

Also, my food could NEVER touch either. In fact, I wouldn't allow anyone to put vegetables on my plate with my food. I would wait until I had eaten everything off the plate and THEN I would have the veggies, because I didn't want the juice to touch my food. I also only ate one item at a time. Once that item was gone, I'd move to the next. I have outgrown this, thankfully.

As for how she feels about her clothes. I did have and still have this problem. My "left" side of my body seems to be "bigger" than the right side. So, my shirt sleeves are tighter on the left than the right, etc. I redo my hair (ponytail) TONS during the day because it's too loose, or too tight, or too much to the left or the right, etc.

Those are just a few minor examples. And, for me, it got worse as I got older. And, I started having the obsessions as well as the compulsions when I was a little older.

This is currently affecting my marriage (not to the point of divorce - I have a very understanding DH). But, it causes irritability. And, I don't adapt well to change either.

Anyway, sorry for the novel, but I would say to have her at least evaluated. I don't think there is any harm in having an evaulation and if it is OCD, then the sooner she learns how to cope with it, the better. My parents didn't know there was anything wrong, they figured I was just a picky kid. It would have been so much better and easier for me, if I had learned long ago about OCD.

Best of luck to you both!