Teaching Strategies to
Help Children with OCD
The first strategy is to identify the
symptoms, the earlier the symptoms are
recognized the better. Also get to know
the child and their individual
characteristics. Teachers must be on the
same page as the parents’; frequent
communication is a must, such as
collaboration with progress in academics,
medicine, and social skills. Have one on
one time with the child and establish
positive but unwavering rules and goals
for the child. Teachers cannot pinpoint or
embarrass children with OCD because
they are already anxious about messing
up. Instead teachers need to be able to
recognize the issue and again positively
repeat the goal and expectation for the
child.
Assistive Technologies
Very important for a device is to make
sure it meets the exact goal of the
individual needs of the OCD child.
 A computer based instruction
may help an OCD child, because
it gives the child different options
on how to respond.
 Social assistive technologies can
help an OCD child because it
gives them options on how to
interact with peers and helps
children gain that skill.
 Visual Aids are a huge help for
OCD children. It can show
directions or assignments in an
easy simple way. It can give a
child other ways to concentrate
on assignments.
Sources
Jakes, Ian. “The Definition of Obesessive
Compulsive Disorder”. Journal of
Mental Health.Sept. 1994, Vol 3:
Issue 3. 14 Sept. 2010. Web.
Dyches, Tina, Melissa Heath and etc. “Teaching
Students with Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder”. Intervention in Schools and
Clinics. Hammill Institute on Disabilities.
2010. 15 Sept. 2010. Web.
Interesting Facts about
OCD:
1. OCD is the fourth most common pediatric
psychiatric disorder in the US.
2. OCD affects 1 out of 200 school aged
students
OBSESSIVE
COMPULSIVE
DISORDER
IN YOUNG CHILDREN
“A teacher affects eternity; he can
never tell where his influence
stops”
-Henry Adams
“A hero is an ordinary individual
who finds strength to persevere and
endure in spite of overwhelming
obstacles”
- Christopher Reeves
By: Marybeth Leitch
Your Name Here
Your Title Here
Symptoms of OCD
In young children, symptoms are many
times overlooked due to the child’s
embarrassment. A young child is good at
hiding his or her own differences in a
classroom. Symptoms of OCD can
distract children and a most of the time,
student’s academic achievement will
decline. Symptoms are rituals that cannot
be broken or a child not being able to
accept their mistakes. Also children with
OCD sometimes also have other learning
disabilities. Examples of symptoms are
repeatedly washing their hands, fear of
dust, germs, and constantly organizing
items by shape or color.
What is ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder
(OCD)?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a
chronic disorder that is time consuming,
and causes unnecessary distress, anxiety
and impairments. Obsessions are intrusive,
repetitive and distressing thoughts.
Compulsions are ritualistic, repetitive
behaviors that are involuntary. OCD
sufferers have a problem with their brain,
such as the frontal lobe. Also there are low
levels of serotonin in the brain, so the
neurotransmitters have trouble
communicating with other parts of the brain
and body. Most of the time OCD symptoms
appear during stressful times in a child’s
life, a viral infection as an infant or just
genetics.
Needs for a Child
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Daily routines to stay on track
Positive encouragement when
accomplishing tasks
Learning to accept mistakes
Longer time to accomplish goals
Support from others
finding the gifts and talents of the
child
Communication lines between
classroom and home settings are
constant
Daily stress release exercises
Teaching the child to live with the
symptoms of OCD
Nine-tenths of education is
encouragement.
-Anatole France
Accommodations for the
Classroom
In the classroom, children with OCD have
trouble transitioning from one subject to
another. Teachers need to set up a daily
routine for the child, so they know exactly
how the day with plan out for themselves.
OCD children also have problems with
relaxing during stressful classroom
experiences. Teaching strategies of
relaxing in the class is a great way to
teach all children to relax and have fun
with learning. Teachers also need to
model that making mistakes are okay for
anyone, but also to praise the child for
staying on task with assignments.
Sometimes children with OCD have
trouble concentrating sometimes just
letting the child take a break from the
assignment, gives them a chance to
collect themselves and begin again.
Have a child focus on one main thing
rather than many little nuts and bolts. For
example, for a written assignment have
the child focus on just grammar, rather
than spelling and punctuation and
handwriting.