Having an OC child can be difficult, especially if you yourself have not been through OCD and know little about it. Depending on where you live and what resources are available to you, you may encounter a frustrating lack of knowledge and compassion toward both you and your child. (Of course, your experience could be happily opposite, or somewhere in between.)

If you can, seek out doctors and others who know about OCD and are familiar with its symptoms and treatment. If that isn't possible, you may be able to learn a lot about it on your own, and then educate some of the medical and school professionals already in your child's life.

The OC Foundation Web site (www.OCFoundation.org) may be able to help you find therapists and other help in your area. If not, you might be able to find a local OCD support group. That may lead to more information about specialists in childhood OCD.

Today, there are many online support resources available for parents. One can be found at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ocdandparenting. The OC Foundation can be a helpful starting point for information about the disorder and the many practical concerns surrounding it. About.com can be helpful, as well, and has a teen OCD support group. Look around at http://specialchildren.about.com. There are many online parent support organizations, aside from these. Type “OCD” and “children” or “parenting” into your computer's search engine. Many excellent books, written for parents or children, also address childhood OCD. (One or two of these are listed in Appendix A.)

Your child's “disability” might not be entirely bad. It might help her to become expert, for instance, in certain subjects that interest her. Or it could be that a perfection compulsion helps her to come up with excellent presentations and projects (as long as you, your child and her teachers understand the enormous pressure that goes with that degree of drive). Many gifted people are known to be perfectionistic.