OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
Definition
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, better known as OCD “is a mental health condition characterized by distressing, intrusive, obsessive thoughts and repetitive, compulsive physical or mental acts” (Nichols 2017). Obsessions are recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and cause great anxiety. (Abramowitz, J. S., Taylor, S., & McKay, D. 2009) Due to the obsessions, people relieve their anxiety with compulsions or rituals. “Compulsions are repetitive behaviours (eg, repetitive hand washing, ordering, or checking) or mental acts (eg, repetitive praying, counting, or thinking good thoughts to undo or replace bad thoughts) that the affected individual feels compelled to do in response to an obsession, or according to rigid rules (eg, checking that a light switch is turned off by switching it on and off exactly ten times)” (Abramowitz, J. S., Taylor, S., & McKay, D. 2009). OCD is caused by a multiple different factors. It can be caused by your genetics, your biology, or environment. There is not one specific reason why OCD is caused. “In children, it is estimated that one in 200 have it — and about 20 teens in a medium-to-large high school. When does it appear? It can at any age, but often first manifests itself between ages 8 and 12 and between the late teen years and early adulthood”(Strauss 2016).
Instructional Strategies
There are many things that you can do for students in the classroom that suffer from OCD. Stated by Child Mind Institute teachers can extend time for tests and papers, have laptops for writing, provide private testing rooms, skip reading out loud, break homework into chunks, and have books on tape. Another thing that you can do is have a set seating arrangement. You can arrange the desks in the class to accommodate for the students needs. If the student cannot concentrate with a lot of noise, it probably would not be smart to seat that child by the door, where students are walking noisly in the hallway.
Useful Websites
Research
This link will redirect you to the International OCD Foundation's website. It shows latest research done on OCD and talks mainly about treatments for it. It emphasizes the potential importance of Glutamate and how it could contribute to faster and better treatments than those of the past.
https://iocdf.org/expert-opinions/expert-opinion-glutamate/
This link will take you to the Child Mind Institute website. It discusses why behavioral therapy may be the best way to treat children with OCD.
https://childmind.org/article/behavioral-therapy-treat-ocd-in-kids/
This link will bring you to the Science Daily website where you can find the latest research done on OCD. This article talks about how they may have found the cause of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170316112145.htm
Other
According to Mayoclinic there are factors that may increase the risk of developing or triggering this disorder such as family history, stressful life events, and other mental health disorders.
Sources
Abramowitz, J. S., Taylor, S., & McKay, D. (2009). Obsessive-compulsive disorder.The Lancet, 374(9688), 491-9. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lewisu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lewisu.edu/docview/199044004?accountid=12073
Nichols, H. (2017, April 20). Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Symptoms, causes, and treatment. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/178508.php
How to Help Students With OCD. (n.d.). Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://childmind.org/guide/a-teachers-guide-to-ocd-in-the-classroom/how-to-help-students-with-ocd/
Flexible Teaching Methods for Working With Students With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). (2012, January 05). Retrieved November 05, 2017, from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-inclusion-strategies/7818-flexible-teaching-methods-for-working-with-students-with-ocd/
Hasan, S. (Ed.). (2017, June). Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/ocd.html
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). (2016, September 17). Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20354432
Strauss, V. (2016, October 11). What obsessive-compulsive disorder does to a young mind when it grows unchecked. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/10/11/what-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-does-to-a-young-mind-when-it-grows-unchecked/?utm_term=.d16d69654c6e
New Horizons in OCD Research and the Potential Importance of Glutamate. Can We Develop Treatments That Work Better and Faster? (2017, October 11). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://iocdf.org/expert-opinions/expert-opinion-glutamate/
Jerry Bubrick, PhD, is the senior director of the Anxiety Disorders Center and director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Service at the Child Mind Institute. (n.d.). Why Behavioral Therapy is the Best Way to Treat OCD in Kids. Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://childmind.org/article/behavioral-therapy-treat-ocd-in-kids/
U. (2017, March 16). Science Daily: Cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder discovered. Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170316112145.htm