Does this seem like a tic?

[bgbarnes]

He did this again this past weekend in the car. However, he is adding lines. "mommy I want a pony" "can we get a pony" "I want to get a pony". Again, I answered once and then didn't respond any more. I also didn't address it since if it is a tic, I don't want to make him self conscious. But trying to remember that he is a 7 year old boy and any 7 year old boy does odd things

 

 

i know i'm soon to get kicked off this forum with my own obsession with the explosive child. i don't know where this falls with ERP techniques of reptitive questions so it may not be good advice. my son did this when in exacerbation. i didn't use this then but would if i had to now. did you try repeating back to him what he's said rather than engaging in a conversation about it? like "you want a pony?". "you want us to get a pony?". "you need a pony?" "a pony!" with an incredulous tone.

 

what i like about this technique is that it keeps me involved with him b/c he will get upset if i ignore him or try to disengage in some other manner. however, i'm not really engaging with him. for my son, it tends to throw it back on him and then he's able to unhook his mind and he can see what he's saying is not really reasonable. if i try to tell him how his mind is unreasonable it seems to only further entrench him.

I picked up Explosive Child this weekend and have used this technique when my son started his cognitive inflexibility or repetitive statements like that and I have to say- it has GREATLY DIMINISHED the length and duration of the inquisition. In the book it says to respond with- So you want a Pony- what's up? My son just stopped and had to respond- the responsibility became his not mine to answer. I am sticking with it!

Brandy

[3boysmom]

Our son is 10 and I have also seen this. We have handled this in different ways depending on what he is repeating or “stuck on” and trying to figure out why....

 

-When really ill, he would repeat phrases over and over and over for hours (and could be in different voice tones)...example: "all intrusive thoughts are not always real, all intrusive thoughts are not always real,......" Could not help with those, only reassure and comfort.

 

-When questioning over and over- if they were irrational questions- example: "Do you think I had an accident in my pants or is that irrational?" I would answer him once and then if he tried to ask me that same question (even if worded a bit different) I would hand him a notebook and have him write his question and my answer down....when he asked again, I would tell him that “I have already answered that question” and he can read my response. He would say "I know, I know, irrational" and then stop. Often worked, but he is older.

 

-When questioning for something that was not irrational but that he may just "want" ...for example a cell phone... (Which will be a NO for several more years). He may ask "mom can I have a cell phone” My answer may be something like....Yes, when the time is right. What kind would you choose? Why don't you do some research on the different kinds...etc. Puts the responsibility back on him and it becomes productive to some degree. (Until you need to sit through a 2 hour presentation of all the different makes, models, features, pros, and cons of every cell phone ever invented....LOL)

 

I've actually been able to determine his improvement by the different "form" of repeated questioning...Does that make sense?

[EAMom]

he knows I want a great dane and that intimidates him.

 

Hmmm. So your son wants a pony, and YOU want a dog which is the size of a pony.

[faith]

I've never realized this is (could be) ocd. NOW I get it. My son does this all the time. Esspecailly about wanting stuff. He will try to get me to commit to stuff, even if it is a year in the future. Stuff he knows he will never get. He harasses me over, and over. We call it badgering. When he starts I give him a bit to see how far he will take it, "I've answered you ten differnt ways, now you are badgering me. Let if go or I will have to stop playing and go inside" (becasue - I can't stand it anymore and I'm going to loooose it!) I don't say that part...ok.... sometimes I do.

 

I've just considered him an excellent and persistent negotiator. But it goes way beyond that - I can see now how it relates to ocd. Soemtimes he can't let other things go either - if he feels wronged in some way, like somethings unfair - he has a very difficult time moving on - he obsesses over it.

 

I think it falls into the category of being inflexible. He's stuck on something - like classic ocd - only he's stuck on something he wants, or somehting that happened that he didn't want. Control-issue ocd. He doesn't repeat the EXACT same thing over and over (he will approach it from every angle he can think of), but he is stuck none the same.

 

He has another weird one that we didn't know was ocd either - he can't stand to hear or see me or his father swallow anything. He is very controlling about it. Basicaly, we aren't allowed to swallow in his presence, or he losses it and will rant and rave for 5-15 minutes. This was his first big symptom in hindsight. We jus thought he was starting to be a preteen pain int he you know what at dinner time - he and sister would get comptitive about who had best table manners "don't talk with your mouthfull - you are soooo disgusting" thats how it started. Then when other symtoms started we thought he was jsut sensitive to noises, maybe sensory intergration disorder, because he was a bit more sensitive to everything(extremely irritible) - but the swallowing thing took on a life of its own.

 

norcalmom, wow, the first three paragraphs is pretty much what I would describe for my son too.

 

and the swallowing part, just replace it with me or my husband humming (however inaudible), singing a line, or even saying a big word or catch phrase that he never heard before.....he gets freaky about it, exaggerates his irritation of it.......but this doesn't really occur with anyone else but us, and mostly me.......

 

and tantrums, that's very familiar too, questioning something twelve different ways....."am I punished?" (I answer no).... "can I have a second chance?"...(I say maybe)......"as of right this minute, am I still punished".....and on and on until he hears what he wants to hear and must need to clarify it in stone......ack....

[mandyknowles]

A couple of weeks ago, actually on the way to see Dr. T, my son started saying "mommy I want a pony". He said this over and over despite my answering him (obvously NO LOL) for several minutes. He also says it in an odd voice, sortof a "valley girl" type sound. He did it again briefly on the way home, but I think only said it two or three times.

 

He did this again this past weekend in the car. However, he is adding lines. "mommy I want a pony" "can we get a pony" "I want to get a pony". Again, I answered once and then didn't respond any more. I also didn't address it since if it is a tic, I don't want to make him self conscious. But trying to remember that he is a 7 year old boy and any 7 year old boy does odd things

 

His tics just seem to be getting odder and odder to me (if this is also one). But overall, they aren't that constant. Prior to DX, he had very "classic" tics which went away with the initial course of amox.

 

 

My daughter would shout obsenities for like two months. and now, she has multiple personalities, so the different voices could be part of it. She has been on antibiotics for 7 months now and is just now getting to where she doesnt do these things as badly as before. She has chest spasms which makes her stop breathing. It's awful! I hope things get better for you.

 

Mandy

[tantrums]

he knows I want a great dane and that intimidates him.

 

Hmmm. So your son wants a pony, and YOU want a dog which is the size of a pony.

 

 

LOL!! Didn't think of it that way. Maybe I can convince him the Dane IS a pony?

 

Okay, I have to say... Reading the Explosive Child now and really just NOT impressed. I can't seem to get past the use of "what's up" and it's making me nuts!!! The basic concepts seem very psych 101 to me, but maybe because of my job as well. It's pretty logical stuff, so not knocking it. It's a lot of what I kindof do now, but admittedly, not consistently which I know I have to work on myself. Not to mention, I find myself screaming at the author "the kid probably has PANDAS. Try medical treatment!!!" at at least half of his case studies.

 

And unfortunately, the pony repetition is increasing