What Age Did It First Become Evident?

[dwg1998red]

Hi, I found this board after watching some curious behavior in my two year old son. He's always been rigid about routines and exactness, but something new happened today.

 

I told him to put away his Lucky Ducks game. He toddled up to the box with box cover, looked in the box for a split second and said, "oops, one more." I looked and counted 11 of 12 ducks were piled in the box. It wasn't because he saw the last duck on the floor, because he did not know where the last one was, only that is was missing. He looked around for it for a minute, but I found it first.

 

He's been able to identify letters and numbers since 18 months. Are there other symptoms that I should look for? If he may have OCD tendencies, does early intervention help, or should I just leave him be if he continues to develop normally otherwise? Or am I just an overly worried dad?

 

Tom

[galen]

Tom,

 

I think there's NOTHING wrong with your son. He's a normal, curious, witty and bright little boy, who seems to have an advantage, rather than disadvantage, being able to identify letters and numbers, tending to exactness, and having a keen sense of observation (most adults wouldn't even notice the missing duck). He's at the age when kids begin exploring the world, and I think it's WONDERFUL that he's paying attention to details and is ahead of his peers in development (many 2-year olds can't comprehend letters or numbers). It will help him do well in school and maybe even beyond (attention to details is valued everywhere, and blessed is he who is born with it). Don't introduce real problems into the child's life by trying to correct non-existent ones. If you put him on OCD medications (on what ground??!!), then he will for sure develop learning disabilities, behavioural changes or even physical ailments (such as liver disease).

 

It often becomes a problem when people start applying the general symptoms of an illness to themselves, without knowing the specifics of the disease, and then they end up "diagnosing" a condition they never had. If you have real reasons to be concerned about your son's well-being, consult a pediatrician or a child psychologist (but NOT A PSYCHIATRIST) to get competent advice. (I've discovered mental health specialists in North America like to make a lot of money by treating those non-existent symptoms - which in their vast majority are attributes of normal human behaviour - with extremely aggressive means that later require medical intervention to treat the real problems they've caused.)

 

It's perfectly normal to be a "worried dad", but make sure your worries do not cross the boundaries of reason. As one journalist had pointed out - "pathology begins where common sense ends".

 

Best of luck to you.

[dwg1998red]

Thanks for the reassurance. Medication for my son never crossed my mind. I know he's all right, but I am curious to know how his mind ticks. My mother, who is a child psychologist, simply implied that I only need to look into a mirror if I was interested in previewing his future development. Also, my wife revealed to me her minor OCD tendencies (for which she tried Xanax, but found chamomile tea preferable), so I understand he's behaving in a normal manner considering his DNA.

 

Thanks again.