Identifying OCD within the classroom
It is important to remember that parents may not always be the first to recognize that their child has a problem.
There are currently around 127,000 young people with OCD at school. Many live lives designed to hide their internal torment, frightened about what would happen if they opened up to their friends or a teacher. OCD is associated with severe difficulties related to academic performance, relationships, abuse and even suicide.
It is important to remember that parents may not always be the first to recognize that their child has a problem, with the many hours that young people spend at school, you as a member of school personnel may be in a unique position to observe and interact with students for extended periods of time. As well as this, school personnel are better able to receive information from other school children regarding the behaviour of a fellow student in their class who they think are behaving strangely.
Karen – secondary school teacher
