Customer Reviews

Up and Down the Worry Hill: A Children's Book About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Its Treatment

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recommend this book to my child clients who have OCD. It is the compassionate story of a child, Casey, (who is, I think, of ambiguous gender so that either a boy or a girl can identify with him/her). Casey has OCD with a wide variety of rituals. OCD occurs, it explains, "because some of the chemicals in your brain don't work right and your brain gets stuck". The book's title refers to the metaphor of riding a bicycle up a steep hill then getting to coast down to demonstrate the route to recovery from OCD. It encourages seeking professional help to aid the child in designing and using "exercises"(exposure and ritual prevention) to challenge the power of OCD. Children can find inspiration and hope in Casey's story.

Wow, I found this book and brought it home, my son and I sat on the couch together before dinner and read the first 29 pages. When we stopped I told him to do his homework. Part of his homework was just to write a sentence and draw a picture about something he did that day. When he was done he handed it to me and I began to CRY. He had drawn a picture of us reading the book and there were little "word bubbles" above the pictures he drew, one said "up and down the worry hill", the other said "thank you mommy" and the other said "you're welcome"! Then below was an explaination, it said in the cuteset mispelled 7yr olds words, "My mom got me a new book and I like it because it helps my problems with feelings"
OMG!! My baby is so happy he isn't the only one who has this! I and he reccomend this book!!

This book made my son feel SO much better - immediately after he read it! Knowing he wasn't "crazy" as well as giving clear information on what he could do to control his OCD instead of it controlling him made all the difference in the world! Riding Up and Down the Hill is exactly what we did to help in the exposure therapy and ritual prevention and he was able to "hold on" until we reached the top of the hill and then he was so happy to ride down the other side. In turn, his OCD "shrank". He was so proud of himself and so was I! I also highly recommend the other book Dr. Wagner wrote entitled "What to Do When Your Child Has OCD". It's a must for parents!! Thank you Dr. Wagner!!! You are wonderful and have made such an impact on my son, his OCD and our family!!

My 9-year old found this too easy for her. She also said the boy "wasn't like her" because of his compulsiveness (she has obsessive thoughts mostly). However, in the next few days I caught her doing some of her semi-complusive routines and told her she was more like the boy than she thought. She agreed. I wish we could have found this book a few years ago. But it did open up a dialogue about some things, which was great for us. It's one of the few children's books out there on the subject so I wouldn't pass it up, even if it was a little juvenile for your child.

This book has been written for children, by a Child Psychologist who specializes in anxiety disorders. It uses images and metaphors and makes Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorders really clear and easily understandable for everybody. Not only children!

I grew up under the obsessive care of a mother suffering O.C.D. Nobody in the family, including her, knew what was the matter with her. When she finally was diagnosed with O.C.D. we were no longer children anymore, but this book still helped us understand her struggle and help her with her treatment.

This book is full of hope, optimism and love. It truly changed our lives for the better!

My son had a sudden onset of OCD at age 6. There is a shortage of psychiatric care in my area and even more limited for children. I had to get help FAST. I ordered 3 OCD books from Amazon including UP AND DOWN ... I read it to my son as soon as we got it. He exclaimed that "He's just like me!" My son doesn't like to read it often, but we do every so often to remind him that he's not alone and that things are usually pretty good. Also, the character has traits that my son does NOT have and that makes him feel better, more in control.

Dr. Wagner's book UP and Down the Worry Hill is a must read for parents and children who are dealing with OCD. The simple message easily translates to children and most importantly makes them feel like they have control over their thoughts and emotions instead of OCD. I have recommended this book to our church, school and doctors office. I have had the opportunity to work directly with Dr. Wagner with my child and her ability to work with OCD children is incredible. Her program, along with materials associated with this book gave my son his smile back.
We regularly use the book as a resource when issues come up from time to time. If your child is struggling with OCD I would highly recommend this book. I would recommend reading it with others in the family as well.

As a clinician specializing in the treatment of OCD, I highly recommend this book as a resource to clinicians and families with a child with OCD. I've used in in my practice and found it to be a wonderful resource. Clinicians can buy several copies and loan them out to their clients or recommend that their clients get this book.

Larina Kase, PsyD, http://www.TheSuccessfulTherapist.com

As a clinical and developmental psychologist working with children who have OCD, I would highly recommend this book. Dr. Wagner's broad knowledge about OCD is condensed into a highly readable book which is "child friendly" in terms of its vocabulary usage and presentation of conceptual knowledge about OCD. Dr. Wagner gives Casey, the protagonist, a wide range OCD behaviors so that children will be able to identify some of their own OCD symptoms as they read the book. Casey's story has helped to "normalize" OCD for the children I treat so that they can feel they are not alone and that there is help for them.

My daughter, who's 7, was able to read this book fairly independently. She has had OCD for many years, but had never encountered any other children who have this disorder. Reading about other kids with this problem, plus seeing there was something that could be done about it, was so enlightening for her. I highly recommend it!