OCD Characters in Children’s and Young Adult Books

My son has had a series of tics since he was little from squeeky sounds, to a Tiger Woods arm pump, to an extra hop in his step. There was also a throat clearing noise and excessive eye blinking. He generally would move from one tic to the next one in smooth succession.

When he had a severe concussion this past year, his neurologist said that he had Tourette’s Syndrome. His psychologist — very helpful for concussion because it can cause depression and anxiety — said that my son would have to have three tics simultaneously for it to be Tourette’s so he was deemed with just having a tic.

We actually think his tics are cute and it never worried us like his concussion does. We also figured he would outgrown it, which may very well be the case according this therapist.

This is what I learned about tics, Tourette Syndrome, and OCD:

Tics, Tourette Syndrome, and OCD

Tics are rapid, repetitive movements or vocal utterances. They may be motor (like excessive eye blinking) or vocal (such as a habitual cough or chronic repetitive throat clearing noises), chronic (continuing throughout childhood), or transient (lasting less than 1–2 years). In children who eventually develop tic disorders and ADHD, the ADHD usually develops 2 to 3 years before the tics.

Tourette syndrome, which is quite rare, is a more severe form of tic disorder involving motor and vocal tics that occur many times per day. The average age at which it appears is 7 years. While children with Tourette syndrome may develop ADHD, the 2 disorders are separate and independent conditions. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is not a variant of Tourette syndrome, and Tourette syndrome is not just a variety of ADHD. Research has shown that chronic tic disorders, Tourette syndrome, and OCD may stem from some common factors, and a child with any of these conditions is quite likely to also have ADHD.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder involves such symptoms as obsessive thoughts (such as a highly exaggerated fear of germs) and compulsive behaviors (for example, excessive hand-washing  in an attempt to reduce the fear of germs) that the child is unable to control or limit. In this sense, OCD is similar to tic disorders and Tourette syndrome, and creates additional functioning problems for children with ADHD. From HealthyKids.org

 

One out of a hundred children suffer from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Research indicates that it is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. From Mr. Worry

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over. from NIMH

I found that I was misinformed about OCD. Author Wesley King also helped to set me straight:

“Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD) is one of the most common but least understood mental illnesses in the world today. ‘I am so OCD’ has become a popular saying to describe someone who likes things clean and organized. But OCD is not liking things clean or organizing your socks. It’s a constant battle with your mind that can afflict every minute of every day.” OCDANIEL author note by Wesley King 

I hope these books with characters who suffer from OCD help us all to understand this mental health disease. I am going to keep this list updated as I find more books, and will also link back to book reviews from other bloggers. Thanks for your help in building this list!

OCD Characters in Children’s and Young Adult books

Mr. Worry: A Story about OCD by  Holly L. Niner, illustrated by Greg Swearingen 

This is a great picture book for anyone who wants to understand what it is like to be a child with OCD. It explains why they can’t help checking the same things over and over again. In this story, Dr. Fraser explains how his brain handles doubts and fears. She teaches him how to “hang up”–  the same as if you receive a wrong number phone call — on those doubts and fears using a combination of medicine and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). This is a comforting story to understand the battles that children with OCD face in their heads, and the strategies to overcome them. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

OCDaniel by Wesley King

Ms. Yingling Reads has a great review here which is how I discovered this book.

This is an almost autobiographical account of the author’s 8th grade when he hid his OCD from everyone. He used ritualized compulsions to try to control anxiety and panic attacks and had no idea what the cause was until he was 16. OCDANIEL deals with fitting in, a girl crush, and discovering the hero within himself. It’s an uplifting story of unlikely friendships. [chapter book, ages 9 and up]

Kat Greene Comes Clean by Melissa Roske

When I set out to write my first middle-grade novel, Kat Greene Comes Clean, I knew Kat would be a fun-loving, cake-eating, Harriet the Spy-reading New Yorker whose mom has OCD. (I’m a fun-loving, cake-eating, Harriet the Spy–reading New Yorker whose dad has OCD.) I also knew she’d go to a fictionalized version of the ultra-progressive elementary school I attended as a child. Why? Because my alma mater, the City and Country School, in New York’s Greenwich Village, helped shape my identity as a writer—and as a person.

from Nerdy Book Club, Fact vs Fiction: Portraying Middle Grade Memories in a (sort of) Truthful Light.

Ms YingLing has a review here. In this book, the girl’s mother has OCD:

Kat lives with her divorced mother in Greenwich. She goes to a small, progressive school, and her class is working on a production of Harriet the Spy, and working on a project to go along with that. Kat is paired with Sam, and the two have their ups and downs of getting along. Her friend Halle is a bit obsessed with Michael, a boy in their class whom she thinks like her. Normal, everyday stuff– except for the fact that Kat’s mom is obsessed with cleaning, to the point where her hands are badly chapped and she brings antibacterial wipes to the grocery to use on canned goods. [chapter book, ages 9 and up]

School of Fear series by Gitty Daneshvari 

While some do not consider phobias to be true OC Spectrum Disorders, they do have obsessive-compulsive features that are quite similar to OCD. … Also, phobias and OCD both involve intense, irrational fears and repeated avoidance of anxiety-provoking objects and/or situations. from OCD Center of Los Angeles

This is the kind of school you’d send your kids if they had debilitating phobias to conquer. Even if my kids weren’t terrified of something, I’d have them read this very funny series. [chapter book, ages 10 and up]

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Every Last Word has a very different protagonist than OCDANIEL. Sam has been diagnosed with OCD since she was 11 and has an amazing psychiatrist. Now a Junior in high school, she looks every bit the part of a popular girl. Except she’s miserable with her old set of friends but doesn’t know how to get out. When she meets Caroline Madsen, things change with an introduction to a secret poetry club at school. Poetry frees Sam from the numbers that control her life via her OCD, and offers a do-over to the cruelty she inflicted as a middle school bully. But not every thing is at it seems. [young adult, ages 12 and up]

Thank you to my Instagram follower @the_neverending_stack for her suggestion . She says, “I remember The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten being a really powerful read about a character with OCD.

Filled with moments of deep emotion and unexpected humor, this understated and wise novel explores the complexities of living with OCD and offers the prospect of hope, happiness and healing. Perfect for readers who love Eleanor & Park and All the Bright Places. [young adult, ages 14 and up]

Thank you to my Instagram follower @2cowsread for her suggestion:

The Goldfish Boy by debut author Lisa Thompson has a main character who suffers from OCD. The book is British and set in England so readers get to see how their health system deals with such issues (honestly when the primary doctor makes the referral we could only hope that was not based on a true story. The book is middle grade.

Lisa Thompson’s debut novel is a page-turning mystery with an emotionally-driven, complex character study at its core — like Rear Window meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Matthew Corbin suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. He hasn’t been to school in weeks. His hands are cracked and bleeding from cleaning. He refuses to leave his bedroom. To pass the time, he observes his neighbors from his bedroom window, making mundane notes about their habits as they bustle about the cul-de-sac.

When a toddler staying next door goes missing, it becomes apparent that Matthew was the last person to see him alive. Suddenly, Matthew finds himself at the center of a high-stakes mystery, and every one of his neighbors is a suspect. Matthew is the key to figuring out what happened and potentially saving a child’s life… but is he able to do so if it means exposing his own secrets, and stepping out from the safety of his home? [chapter book, ages 8 and up]

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