What Is Oppositional Defiant Disorder?

I think my child may have ODD. How would I know for sure? Distinguishing Oppositional Defiant Disorder from age appropriate normal defiant behavior isn't easy. Symptoms of the disorder tend to mirror (in exaggerated form) child rearing problems common in all families. In addition, different families have various levels of tolerance for defiant behavior. In some, a minor infraction of the house rules produces major consequences, while in more liberal homes, defiant behaviors are largely ignored until they cause major problems. In kids with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, there is a pattern of uncooperative, defiant, and hostile behavior toward adults that seriously interferes with the youngster’s day-to-day functioning. Regularly, they lose their temper, argue with adults, actively defy adult rules, refuse adult requests, and deliberately annoy others. The symptoms are seen in multiple settings (e.g., home, school, in the neighborhood, etc.) and are not simply the result of

There is a large overlap between Conduct Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, with similarities in both disorders that include: anger bullying of peers and siblings defiance disobedience rebellion against authority resentment school problems In order to differentiate between the two, one of the things a therapist will generally look at is how the adolescent treats animals. Is he or she mean or cruel to the family pets or kind to them? Another area that is looked at is whether or not there have been legal problems, what those legal problems were, and if they are recurring or one-time events. For example, many adolescents experiment with shoplifting and end up getting caught, but this does not mean they have either a Conduct Disorder or Oppositional Defiant Disorder. However, if they keep shoplifting, or their activities turn to more serious stealing behavior, it is probably safe to assume that there is a more serious behavior problem going on. In addition