My friend and I are looking for a rubric for my daughter, who cannot stop what she is doing until she finishes it. If I tell her to go to the kitchen with her food, she cannot do so until she finishes eating her food. She gets very anxious when this is happening because she does not want people to think she is disobedient. Thank you!

Fastidious.

__________________
"The significance of a fact is measured by the capacity of the observer."
Carroll Dunham

Good one, Lisa; also, concientious about trifles, and perhaps, Monomania.

Snoopy

I do not think it is conscienciousness or fastidiousness, she is locked into what she is doing and cannot break away from it, even though she would like to. Something else is in control. It is not any one thing, but whatever she is doing at the time.

Also, in Murphy's Repertory: Mind, Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Snoopy

I'd go with Monomania, then.

__________________
"The significance of a fact is measured by the capacity of the observer."
Carroll Dunham

How about- Occupied with objects immediately around ?

Dear Suzi,

It would be interesting to know how your daughter expresses this anxiety about being perceived as disobedient. Is it like Anxiety, of conscience. Is she a worrier?
It may be worth reading Paul Herscu's book, 'The Homeopathic Treatment of Children'. For example, some Calc children are wrongly perceived as being stubborn if told to hurry up and finish whatever they're doing. Herscu says that Calc children often need more time to integrate information and complete tasks than others do and will become distressed and anxious if they're taken out of their timing. It's not because they're intellectually slow, quite the contrary, they can be brilliant students with great determination and perseverance.
If your daughter shows a perfectionist streak, serious minded, and overly concerned with duty and obligation you may want to read the Nat mur chapter.

I'll look at those ideas,
Thank you very much.

Dear ChrisG,

Thankyou for your insightful reply. Yes, she seems to need more time to process or integrate information, but also she shows a perfectionist streak. With regard to her homework, she is behind most of the children in her class. When trying to catch up on the overwelming stack of homework, she struggles to make all the letters perfect. If she notices a mistake, she erases the entire sentence (at times the entire page) and starts over. You can see why she is behind. If she is not finished when it is time to go to school, she breaks down into tears saying that 'it must be finished before class.' She can't seem to stop doing her homework to get her hair combed and her shoes on so we can all walk out the door. When this happens, often I have to finish dressing her and practically drag her out the door so the rest of the children won't be late for school. Hannah is 8 years old.

In regard to how she expresses her anxiety, Hannah is always rushing to help where ever she perceives there is a need. Often this causes more trouble than it helps because of her rushing in without noticing things around her. Often, the food falls on the floor or the water spills, or she gets her sleeve in the butter or something. When we tell her to slow down, she once again is aware of her deficiencies. So she sits in her seat almost motionless saying "O.K., O.K., O.K." as she glances around with her head down and her fingers twiddeling as if she's thinking 'How do I move without spilling something else.' Or, she may rush to clean up the mess only causing more trouble. She knows the other children don't have these problems, and she tries hard not to be different. She is a sweet lovable girl, very much like I was as a child. I hate the thoughts of her hearing the negative remarks I heard growing up. And, yes, she is very bright. Loved very much by adults, not as much by children, though. She's full of life and full of love, but with a streak of mischief and slight stubornness.

In regard to Monomania, is this one thing at a time, or is it an obsession with the same one thing all the time?