too early to screen for OCD?

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every time Olivia gets spoken to sternly, she'll lick herself. Most often on her hands but just now she had to stretch to lick her knee.

And she HATES it when I sing along or make a funny sound that the cartoons make. She'll sometimes hit or use aggressive physical behaviors toward the offender. For example, if they playing Old McDonald with just quacks, I'll start quacking too and she'll hit my mouth or try forcing her finger in my mouth. I'm like "WTF!?"

very concerned about this:

she's now saying, "Olivia's gone" when she's upset. I fear she may have an alter.

I remember my daughter (who is now 14) being about two years old... she would become upset over whatever and do things like shut her eyes and roam around so that no one could see her. She would also do things like hide under a blanket to go away. She had speech problems so she could not have articulated something like 'olivia's gone' but I have no doubt she would have if she could have. My daughter was all about vanishing when things got tense for her.

I would not necessarily worry on that. Some children simply have a lower threshold for what they can cope with. My daughter is not diagnosed with anything, though she still has a low threshold for stress as well as mild ocd symptoms (runs in the family) and some sensory problems (bad texture can drive her nuts). To this day we need to be mindful of her and be delicate in our approaches or it sets her off.

As to your original question, I do not know what is too young or what is not. My other daughter had a friend diagnosed in first grade with OCD. That is the youngest I have heard of... but for myself, had my parents bothered with doctors, my symptoms were obvious well before that. I remember having OCD freakouts at two years old...

i dont see that those things are necessarily OCD traits to be concerned about. i dont know how old olivia is, but its certainly normal for young kids to try to prevent you from doing things they dont like, so trying to put her hands over or in your mouth to stop you singing or making noises doesnt raise any red flags to me. if she is less verbal, it may be that she simply doesnt know how to ask you to stop and so goes the physical route instead. we used to see that with our autie before he developed better communication skills. part of it was the lack of ability to verbalize a request to stop, and part was a sensory reaction causing his communication to be even further degraded. so the result is, if you cant ask someone to stop, you try to physically make them stop.

the licking could just be a sensory reaction, too. i dont recall if olivia is on the spectrum, is she? while i dont see OCD in these things, they are certainly things i have seen or wouldnt be surprised to see in my autie.

Two year olds do this. Don't worry about it.

Maybe sometime later you can ask her what she meant.

FYI, kids that age believe they can disappear by pretending to disappear. Totally normal.

She could just be pretending she's a cat. Cats tend to lick themselves when they've made a fool of themselves.

As for her becoming upset when you make funny sounds, that isn't unusual for young children. They have a concept of "uncool" or "lame"

My kiddo licks when very overstimulated or anxious.

I wouldn't jump to OCD right away. Especially at 2.....2 years olds do all sorts of random things!

Having imaginary friends, I have heard, is a sign of intelligence and creativity and a good coping skill for those who may feel lonely or play by themselves a lot.

I had a best invisible friend, a whole horse farm, sharks in the basement where I could see the fin come up from the floor and alligators under my bed.

I'm fine