Up and Down the Worry Hill. A Children's Book about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and its Treatment

Customer Reviews

Tremendously helpful

2008-01-25
I'm the mother of an 8-year old daughter diagnosed with OCD. This book opened up new doors for us in treating this disorder. It has been perfect for her, and she actually wants to sit down with me to read it. I believe that giving her obsessions/rituals an actual name and introducing her to a child who struggles with similar issues is a major step in our road to living triumphantly over OCD. I strongly recommend What to Do When your Child has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to go along with it--I ordered both and, along with my Bible, they have a home right next to my bed and already have worn pages!

Unfortunate events

2007-05-20
We got this book the weekend my kids were going to their grandparents. I read it on the way to their house and it captivated their attention, both of them (ages 3 & 5). They listened to every single word intently and quietly. They loved the story of the boy and riding his bike up and down the worry hill. It is quite long though and my voice got a litte sore reading aloud for so long. At the end of the book, my son asked, "mommy who's book is that?" and I said "It's yours". He asked if he could write in it. The pages are black and white pictures like a coloring book. I told him he could color the pictures but not to color over the words so that I would be able to keep reading it to them. Unfortunately at Nana & Papa's house there was an accident involving water and the book so only half the book made it back. The cover was torn off and everything. I was so mad! I will probably re-order the book just because he enjoyed it so much.

Highly Recommended!

2007-05-14
We were told by a Doctor, who hadn't even met my son, that he thought my son may have OCD. He was referred to the Child Mental Health offices in our local town and there was a 14 month waiting list! I decided to see what I could do as a Parent and I bought this book. I left it on the table and my son picked it up and read it - his initial reaction was "do you think I have OCD", I replied by telling him that I was interested in the subject as I didn't want to label his condition. Since reading the book he has come along leaps and bounds and his teachers said there has been a remarkable improvement in his confidence and his anxiety has gone!

OK for younger kids - 3.5 stars really

2007-01-12
The book was OK but not great.

It was overly simplistic and not too meaninful for a teenager or parent. It really only skimmed one aspect of OCD, compulsion, and did not address at all the cause of the compulsion, obsessions.

May be more meaningful to younger children...

An excellent book for young children with OCD

2006-06-27
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

A little young for my 9-year old

2006-03-27
Over one million children and adolescents in the US suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a baffling illness that can be debilitating for the child in school, with friends, and family. In this uniquely creative and heart-warming book, Dr. Wagne

Mom in Texas

2005-10-08
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.

A Welcome Resource for kids with OCD

2005-05-01
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.

A Must for Any Child with OCD!!

2005-04-20
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 7yr old son is going to be okay and I cried

2005-04-14
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!!