OCD at school
Managing OCD at School
OCD can affect many areas of a young person’s life, including school life
Some possible ways OCD may present in school:
- Poor attention and concentration due to intrusive thoughts or the need to perform rituals
- Extreme tiredness due to being up late at night doing rituals or the overall exhaustion caused by the constant battle with OCD
- Frequent or prolonged toilet visits due to completing cleaning rituals
- An inability to touch objects, materials or other people due to possible contamination fears
- Excessive questioning and need for reassurance
- Messy work due to having to repeat rituals such as rewriting or erasing words
- Repeated lateness as a result of being delayed by rituals
- Late handing in work due to being slowed down by obsessions and/or compulsions
- Arranging items on a desk, shelf or classroom so that objects are aligned
- Repetitive behaviours such as getting up and down from a desk or opening and closing the door
- Difficulties making decisions
- Low self esteem and difficulty with peer relationships
- Reduction in grades or decline in school performance
- It may also be helpful to be aware that OCD is commonly associated with other disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and Tourette Syndrome.
What can school staff do to help?
Below we have listed some advice and tips for helping young people who have OCD in the classroom setting:
- Effective communication between home and school is important– in the case of a young child with OCD, a ‘concerns book’, or an OCD diary or monitoring form may be exchanged between parents and teachers so the child’s progress may be tracked and shared.
- A challenge for teachers is finding the balance between helping the child ‘face their fears’ whilst at the same time not becoming overwhelmed.
- If the child is having treatment, it is often helpful with permission of the child and family to be in regular contact with the therapist working with the child.
- It is important that teaching staff do not become impatient with the young person or punish them for behaviour over which they have no control. At the same time it is important that children with OCD are helped to learn good behaviour and to obey rules in the same way as any child.
- If the young person becomes highly anxious in the classroom as a result of their OCD, it may be helpful to recognise this. Depending on what stage they are at in their treatment, options are to help them ‘sit out’ their anxiety, discuss it, or take a very short planned break.
- If the young person is struggling to meet deadlines on account of their OCD, you could consider extending the deadline. It may also be helpful to discuss the amount of time the young person is taking to complete assignments to ensure that it is not excessive. Detailed structuring of homework timetables can help.
- You could consider decreasing school workload both in lesson time and homework assignments. However, many children with OCD have great potential so it is important that they are also supported in achieving their goals.
- Consider the impact of exams on young people with OCD and discuss with them how they would like to be supported during these times. You can allow extra time to complete the test, provide a different test-taking location, or even allow them to take the test orally.
- Be aware that some subjects may be more difficult for the young person depending on their worries, e.g. Maths might be difficult for a young person with worries about numbers and Biology for those with a fear of germs. At the same time it is important that children don’t miss out on exciting opportunities because of OCD, so they should be helped to ‘face their fears’.
- OCD can damage confidence and self-esteem. Help young people to focus on their strengths and areas in which they are confident.
- Be alert that OCD sufferers may be easy targets for bullying because of compulsive behaviours or lack of self-esteem.
- It may also be helpful to conduct classroom discussions about what OCD is and educate peers about the disorder, but be sensitive to the young person’s and parents’ views on this.
Source: http://school.ocdaction.org.uk
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