Noah has started hording things. And taking things that aren't his. We've noticed some things coming home in his backpack from school. Sometimes he tells us someone gave it to him, and sometimes he says he "found" it. The other day he came home with a pair of headsets that he said one of the boys in his class gave him. Then he told us he got it from point shopping (one of the rewards they get in his class). The inconsistent story told us something was up, so we sent them back in to school and I emailed his teacher.
It turns out he is frequently taking things from other students and saying they are his. He apparently has a real problem with taking and hording pencils for example.
He's also been taking things in to school with him from home and giving them to his friends. He has always been very generous with his things; frequently offering to share them or give them to us, or his friends.
He has a few minutes every morning where he is by himself while I finish getting dressed. Usually he just watches TV, but a few times I've been able to tell he's been "hunting and gathering." I really didn't think much about it since I'm just used to him assuming everything in the house is his and figured that was kind of age appropriate.
I'm going to have to start checking his backpack before he leaves in the morning just to make sure we have some sort of control on what is going in so his teachers have a better idea of where he is getting things from.
His teacher is wondering if it is some sort of obsessive/compulsive behavior and I think she may be on the right track.
Time for another call to his doctor...
It sounds like it could be a bit OCD, but more on the compulsive side. It would be good for you to find a therapist, and go from there...
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