LuLu carries both Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder in her alphabet soup of labels. Some doctors label the ODD more as Intermittent Explosive Disorder, but regardless of what you call it, the combination is deadly.

LuLu gets stuck, so stuck that if you try to dissuade her she becomes increasingly agitated until she explodes. Or if you try to ignore her she persists on with incredible defiance. If you try to reason with her…well she usually ends up raging then too, or engaging you in an endless game of “Let’s Make a Deal.”

The bottom line is that it’s exhausting! Here’s today’s episode of OCD/ODD. Do not read this while eating!!!!

Background: Last week when we stopped in DC to visit friends, we toured one friend’s art studio where she had small animal carcasses in alcohol that she was going to use in her nature artwork. This immediately became an obsession for LuLu and she wanted one to take home. That, of course, was not an option. She did several little mini-meltdowns about the animals, but was dissuaded by the idea that if she came home and found a dead animal she could preserve it for herself. Well…

Yesterday she found a headless chipmunk under the bushes in front of our house (thanks cat!) She was so excited she could hardly see straight! (Wait, don’t get nauseated yet…it gets better…) So she soaked the poor decapitated critter in alcohol and then in bleach, overnight.

This morning she arose at the crack of dawn to retrieve him. And in her mind she was going to bring him into our house and keep him in her room. Nope…even this mom has limits. No dead animals in the house sounds reasonable to me.

So the battle of the highly determined women was on. She was locked in and I had decided this was a decision that was going to stand. She argued and tried to make deals, she continuously brought it back up, she snuck into the house three times with the critter, she stomped, whined, kicked, complained.

We went toe to toe for the entire morning. And then, by some miracle, after lunch she dropped it. (Of course, I’m emotionally exhausted!)

Actually OCD and ODD are related, in that they occur in the same part of the brain: the limbic system. And specifically they are linked to the cingulate gyrus, known as the “gear shifter” of the brain. This is an area that when we did the QEEGs of LuLu’s brain showed great abnormality. She gets STUCK easily.

So what do you do when your gear shifter is stuck? Well, Omega 3s are a natural lubricant for this. They really do help with overall calming and ability to shift your emotional state. Other relaxation and calming strategies can work, too.

Sometimes I just identify for her that she’s “stuck” and that helps. Other times, we just have to ride it out.


LuLu’s Bucket

Hoagie’s Gifted Education Page (ODD) – I love the description of how much energy it takes to parent a child with ODD!

More on ODD