Mom Wanted Me to Post This--- Shannon's Anxiety and OCD

I'm not the one asking this time. My mom is.

Shannon has been classified EBD with anxiety problems and OCD.

My mom wants to know if there is anything we can do at home for her? My mom's trying to avoid taking her to more doctors than she already sees.

Shannon see's the Special Ed person and the pschologist at her school.

Is there anything like diets, massages, any of those kinds of calming techniques we could use?

Thanks guys!

~ Em

[teddybears4ever2]

As a PCA in training I would say maybe you should get one to help you out.

[EmmyJN]

Okay, I'll make sure to tell her.

Thanks :)

~ Em

[skepticalpeach]

My DD is special needs. She really likes deep pressure. You can look up techniques on the internet. You start with the legs or feet and go up to the arms. We also bought her a couple weighted blankets that she sleeps under.

We took milk out of her diet. She is lactose intolerant and if you give kids milk who are this way it can cause or make autism worse. We also give her fish oil gummies every night. She uses Nordic Naturals brand and I use Nature Made. We also have jumping sessions on our bed so she can blow off steam. She can't jump on the floor because we live in an apartment building.

A PCA is a really good idea. You could also get a service dog. There are some non profit agencies that will give children with special needs a helper dog! I've been learning a lot about the options out there for our children and it's really exciting to see all this stuff that we can do at home!

[EmmyJN]

That service dog thing made me smile. I can imagine bringing that one up to my mom. We would have to keep it a secret from Shannon because she would jump at the idea :)

In all seriousness, however, I might actually tell my mom that. I knew service dog's aren't just for the blind obviously, but I didn't know you could get dogs for things like this. She's EBD with OCD and a currently undiagnosed anxiety problme (we know there's a problem, but we're still working on pin-pointing exactly which one). Do you think she would still qualify?

Shannon has a really bad dairy allergy and we have taken out milk completely from her diet as a result since she was 2. She's 10 right now, and she does pretty good when she doesn't come in contact with things that have milk in it. I will agree, there is a huge difference when she has anything with any kind of milk in it, because she goes off the handle. She gets paranoid, angry, and really snippy---as my mom would put it.

About the fish oil and the deep pressure: I know you said these can help with autism, but would you think they could work with Shannon? EBD isn't "autism" in the sense people normally think, even though Shannon has the characteristics for autism. It's a sticky diagnosis...

Thank you so much for your comment! I'm gonna print this and show it to my mom.

~ Em

[achilles2]

I am curious what did your mom say about my suggestions that I messaged you?

achilles2

[teddybears4ever2]

Fyi fish oil helps with all Brian problems.  

[EmmyJN]

Achilles2: My mom said she brought them up to the doctor, but Shan doesn't have an appointment until next month. When they go in, she said they're meeting with the psychologist and the regular doctors to discuss if any of those things would help. And she says thanks for the suggestions :)

teddybears4ever2: Thanks! I''ll tell her that :) Shannon and her twin Kelly need to be on vitamins anyways (according to their GP) so we were thinking about gummy's. There's one that's a multi-vitamin that has fish oil in it. Do you think that would work? Or should we have her take the fish oil as a seperate tablet from the vitamins?

[skepticalpeach]

I buy Nordic Naturals liquid fish oil and put a little in my DD's V8. It tastes like lemon and is not fishy at all. She loves it! They have a chewable soft gel that I tried giving her, but the soft gel was too tough to chew. She didn't mind the taste, just the texture was weird. You can request a sample pack through their website.

[achilles2]

If you get Carlson Fish Oil the cheapest place to get it is Vitacost.com it is at least $20 cheaper through them it is getting it at the store.

[specialmom]

"Little Critters" brand makes a good gummie vit. and has one with fish oil.  No artificial colors or preservatives and kids generally take them easily.  Also, can get them super easy right at the drug store or grocery.  Not expensive either, same price as other regular vitamins.  

I've never  had any luck with fish oil to be honest with my son though.  

Now, deep pressure is amazing.  Kids either love it or hate it.  Most kids like ours love it.  They even make pressure vests and belts that kids wear under their clothes.  Our friend has her daughter now sleeping in her vest because the deep pressure is so calming.  I have various games you could play that involve the deep pressure if you are interested.  

Side note:  I saw in our local pet store that they now make 'calming' coats for dogs saying it is for upset dogs or anxious dogs.  It looks just like the pressure vest they make for kids.  

good luck

[EmmyJN]

Thank you so much! I will make sure to look for those vitamins!

I will also bring up the vests to my mom and see what she thinks. Shan has a lot of trouble sleeping sometimes because of her anxiety. She'll be totally fine all day, then at night, so goes through all these things, either to us or to her twin Kelly (who has to share a room with her). It will be senarios like robberies, fires, and other horrible things that a little kid shouldn't be thinking about.  The doctors say it has something to do with the anxiety and OCD, and that she's so worked up that her mind goes off the handle, so she can't relax. Maybe these vests could help to relax her a little....

Thanks for your help and I'll keep everyone posted!

~ Em

[achilles2]

From what I hear this company makes the best weighted blankets and such:
http://www.sensacalm.com/weighted-blankets/?gclid=CPX9jb-LlK4CFbAEQAodHkTNJg

[EmmyJN]

Thanks :) I saved the link to the computer and my mom is going to look it over later when my dad gets home so they can talk about it