Pure Parents

Question:

>ODD usually only gets worse unless you get professional help.  I dont know of any books,  but a good resource in general for behavior problems

in TOUGHLOVE which undoubtedly meets near you weekly.  It is important to attend the meetings to get real help, but you can read about their program buy buying "Toughlove" and or "Toughlove Solutions" by David and Phyllis York at any bookstore.  Paperback about $5.  Also a book called "Back in Control" by Bodenheimer is good.  These deal with behavior not exclusive to ODD. I am partial to "Fantastic Antone Succeeds: Experieences in Educating Children with FAS" Many FAS kids experience ODD.  Theres a lot of good parenting, and educating techniques in this.  Its a rather rare book, $20 paperback  Authors Kleinberg and Westcott  University of Alaska Press Whether or not your kid is ODD, the behavior is extreme.  Extreme behavior is ofter a sign of some mental illness, or learning disorder. My kid was the same way starting at age 4.  We were told for 13 years, that we were just bad parents.  ONly within the last few months has our son been diagnosed with schizophrenia.  We are now told all the signs have been there since he was 4, but our psychiatrist was a dud. Get an evaluation.  If you live in the united states, and your childs behavior is impacting his school situation, you are entitled to an evaluation for behavioral and or learning problems.  If any are identified your child is entitled to an Individual Education Plan, which address his specific needs.  It can include affective skills training, anger management training, and even regular therapy with a school psychologist.  The testing and the services would be free.  Go for it. CED

Response:

Can anyone point me to reference material regarding Oppositional Defiant Disorder, especially any reading matter on the Internet that describes solutions rather than mere definitions.  I have just in the last week bumped into this description of child behaviour and unfortunately it fits one of our children EXTREMELY well (he’s now 9 but started exhibiting the behaviour very early) (at birth?).  We initially tried to ignore it, just assuming it was within the normal variation in child behaviour, but as he has gotten older and developed better reasoning powers I have grown more concerned due to the never ending desire to argue and defy over even the most trivial details of everyday life (time to eat, get dressed, brush teeth, hand me back an object, put trash in wastebasket instead of floor, etc., etc., ad infinitum).  We have always assumed he was just a "difficult" child, but having read such startlingly accurate descriptions last week of this behaviour I now wonder if this warrants professional help, since we have not been able to solve it over a period of several years.  Can anyone point me in the direction of materials or organizations I can use to educate myself?   Thanks very much.        David

Response:

Ok, so in addition to borderline, I probably have/had this… I remember back in biology class in high school I got a "Green Slip" (one hour detention with "points" similar to drivers license points) for "insubordination" of all things.  That was the only time I got a real detention ever.  (I believe "Cernera" was the teacher’s name, and I could’ve swore I saw someone who looked just like her on the elevator at the hospital I was working at today, probably wasn’t though, that class was 10 years ago). -Rob

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Oppositional Defiant Disorder > American Description > Diagnostic Criteria > A.      A pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior lasting > at least 6 months, during which four (or more) of the following are > present: > 1.      often loses temper > 2.      often argues with adults > 3.      often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults’ requests > or rules > 4.      often deliberately annoys people > 5.      often blames others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior > 6.      is often touchy or easily annoyed by others > 7.      is often angry and resentful > 8.      is often spiteful or vindictive > Note: Consider a criterion met only if the behavior occurs more > frequently than is typically observed in individuals of comparable age > and developmental level. > B.      The disturbance in behavior causes clinically significant > impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning. > C.      The behaviors do not occur exclusively during the course of a > Psychotic or Mood Disorder. > D.      Criteria are not met for Conduct Disorder, and, if the > individual is age 18 years or older, criteria are not met for Antisocial > Personality Disorder. > Associated Features > *       Learning Problem > *       Depressed Mood > *       Hyperactivity > *       Addiction > *       Dramatic/Erratic/Antisocial Personality > Differential Diagnosis > Conduct Disorder; Mood Disorders; Psychotic Disorders; > Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; Mental Retardation; impaired > language comprehension; typical feature of certain developmental stages. > Internet Mental Health (www.mentalhealth.com) copyright