What Is Oppositional Defiant Disorder?

Mothers and fathers who are concerned that their youngster may have Oppositional Defiant Disorder should seek a professional evaluation. This is important as a first step in breaking the cycle of ineffective parenting of the "problem child.”  During the evaluation process, the parent may come to appreciate the interactive aspect of this disorder and look for ways to improve his/her management of the youngster. Books and parenting workshops given under the auspices of churches, schools, and community agencies may also help moms and dads respond better to the needs of their kids. Once Oppositional Defiant Disorder has been diagnosed, the psychiatrist or other professional may recommend a combination of therapies. Among the options your clinician may recommend are following: 1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Behavioral therapy can help kids control their aggression and modulate their social behavior. Kids are rewarded and encouraged for proper behaviors. Cognitive therapy

Re: Does bad parenting cause Oppositional Defiant Disorder? I don’t think there is a causal relationship (i.e., one causes the other) between bad parenting and Oppositional Defiant Disorder – but there certainly is a correlation (i.e., one contributes to the other) between lack of appropriate parenting skills (i.e., skills needed specifically for raising an oppositional child) and this disorder. Oppositional Defiant Disorder does seem to arise out of a circular family dynamic. The infant, who is by nature more difficult, fussy and colicky, may be harder to soothe. The mom or dad may feel frustrated and unsuccessful at parenting such a child. If parents perceive their youngster as unresponsive or "bad," they may begin to anticipate that the youngster will be unresponsive or noncompliant. They may then become unresponsive or unreliable in return, adding to the youngster's feelings of helplessness, neediness, and frustration. As moms and dads attempt to asser

Question My 11 yr old granddaughter that has lived with me since she was 2 has been hurting my animals. I show dogs and this is a business so it isn't as simple as re-homing a pet. A year ago she dislocated a dog’s ankle requiring 2 surgeries to repair when in anger she stomped on its foot. I made her tell the vet who talked to her, as did I about the inappropriateness of her actions. I found she's still hitting them but not as severely this past week and took her to the police station. They explained to her this is a felony and she could go to jail for 5 yrs and gave me a few options available in our county including institutionalizing her or some juvenile jail time or a program for troubled youth where she would live at home. We did a lot of therapy years ago, but it didn't seem to improve anything and now it's a mess and I am overwhelmed and don't even know where to begin. I really think each time she does something like this and she's talked to and rea

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

Data collected in numerous studies indicates that about 50% of kids with ADHD will also develop Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) or Conduct Disorder (CD) at some point during their development. An interesting finding has been that although "pure" ADHD (i.e., without either Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder) is quite common in kids, the reverse is less likely. In other words, it appears that most kids under age 12 who meet criteria for Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder will also be diagnosed with ADHD. In these cases, it appears that the impulsivity and over activity that is characteristic of ADHD kids, and the ensuing difficulties this creates in parent-child, teacher-child, and peer relationships, increases the risk for the kind of problematic interactions that promote the develop of these other disruptive behavior disorders. The long term outcomes of kids with pure ADHD - and with ADHD plus Conduct Disorder - are very diffe

Conduct Disorder (CD) is a more severe type of behavioral disorder than Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and is more likely to develop in kids with ADHD. According to the publication of the American Psychiatric Association that provides current diagnostic criteria for all recognized psychiatric disorders, the essential feature of Conduct Disorder is "...a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or age appropriate social norms or rules are violated." These behaviors fall into 4 main groupings: Serious violation of rules (e.g., truancy from school; running away from home; staying out at night prior to age 13) Non-aggressive conduct that causes property loss or damage (e.g., fire setting with intent to cause damage; deliberate destruction of property) Deceitfulness or theft (e.g., shoplifting; breaking into someone's house; frequent lying to obtain goods or avoid obligations) Aggressive behavior that causes or threatens t