OCD in a 3 year-old? Really?

[biogirl215]

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So I was procrastinating online (I know, it's a bad habit but it builds up my knowledge base of extraneous information quite well😀) and somehow stumbled across a post in a forum for parents whose children have PDD/AS disorders where the mother said her 3 year-old had been diagnosed with OCD. Now, the only formal education I have in clinical psychology at this point is Abnormal Psych, which is probably the equivalent of staying in a Holiday Inn, but I find it a bit odd that a three year old would be diagnosed with OCD. Could a three year-old or younger really express the cognitions that OCD entails? And, even so, aren't some OC behavoirs and rituals considered a fairly common part of normal childhood development, not inherently pathological traits?

(I'm well aware that I could be totally wrong on both points, so please feel free to correct me if that's the case)

 

[socialcog]

I don't know how common it is for a 3yr old to be clinically diagnosed with OCD. I have never seen it in private practice. However, it is not uncommon for with autism spectrum disorders to carry an OCD or O-C spectrum misdiagnosis. Some clinicians will mistakingly observe the self stim behavior and perseverative qualities and tack on an OCD diagnosis. Unfortunate because some very young ASD kids, with little developing brains, will be put on a medication unnecessarily.