Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

TurnaroundSue

Hi - I was just wondering whether anyone has heard or has had any experience of ODD. Things with my 15 year old son have come to a head and after 3 years of trying to get him assessed through the school with no luck I have been searching on the web. I came across this disorder and he has all the behaviours which point to ODD.

I was wondering whether it is possible to get him a private assessment as time if running out and I need to try and get him some help before he goes off down the wrong path. Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Many thanks

Felicity

Sorry I have no experience or knowledge of this, hopefully somebody will come along that does.

It is always dangerous googling yourself re symptoms, diagnosis etc but I totally understand why you have done this.

My son had a problem when he was only a few weeks old and my GP couldnt help but referred me to a specialist with a three month waiting list. I was frantic and of course did some googling myself (aware of how dangerous it could be). What mother wouldn't?

I too found a name of the problem with all the symptoms my son was displaying so I printed out all the information and went back to see the GP.

I had to handle it very carefully as I didnt want to insult him or get his back up, but I practised how I was going to tell him what I had discovered in a way that would hopefully get a good response .... and he was great, he agreed with me, we looked into it together and we progressed from there together.

I was very worried about going back to see him in order to 'tell him' what I thought my son had but with the right approach (of course nobody likes to be told their job), it worked out very well in the end.

So, after that long post (!) my advice is to go and approach your GP with your findings.

Another thought, are there any online groups for people with this condition? Any support groups, charities etc? It may be worth contacting them in the first instance for a sign post on where to go next.

Good luck, I hope you get the help you need, I bet it is very frustrating for you to put it lightly!

Oldernotwiser

TurnaroundSue wrote: »

Hi - I was just wondering whether anyone has heard or has had any experience of ODD. Things with my 15 year old son have come to a head and after 3 years of trying to get him assessed through the school with no luck I have been searching on the web. I came across this disorder and he has all the behaviours which point to ODD.

Unfortunately most of the symptoms of ODD are pretty similar to "stroppy teenager syndrome". If you can afford a private assessment then you could go down this road but putting a label on your teenager won't alter the way he behaves or the way you deal with it.

KarrieBee

I'm afraid that ODD can often just be written off as naughty behaviour - it is not a specific learning disability like ADHD, many special needs professionals are sceptical as well. I would to be honest as ONW says try to address the behaviour rather than wasting time or money seeking a label. What sort of problems is your son having?

pandora205

ODD is a term that psychiatrists would (possibly) use following the American system of classification of mental disorders (DSM-IV). It doesn't necessarily relate to any 'treatment' other than that used for a range of similar difficulties, such as conduct disorder. The evidence base for most effective interventions places parent training at the top of the list.

Those of us who work in educational and community contexts tend not to use this label as it implies 'within child' difficulties, which can shift the focus away from the setting (school, family, community) where much of the effective work can be done. (I'm an educational psychologist by the way).

So I'm not sure that you'll get very far even with a diagnosis. Treatments, such as therapies are very rare for these types of problems, although sometimes social skills or anger management group work can be offered.

minimoneysaver

I have heard of it and I have worked (in the past) with children who have been diagnosed ODD. Saying that, the children have all been younger. Much of the work I do involves giving the children the tools to help to deal with their anger and make the behaviours that they present with more socially acceptable. It may be worth looking around for some information on behaviour management strategies, although often, this is more difficult for parents, but maybe easier for your teen to take the advice and learn the skills with a specialist or in a group setting.
Good luck.

Gingham_Ribbon

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Unfortunately most of the symptoms of ODD are pretty similar to "stroppy teenager syndrome". If you can afford a private assessment then you could go down this road but putting a label on your teenager won't alter the way he behaves or the way you deal with it.

It should. How to handle a child who is 'out of control' is not cut and dried. The causes of the problems need to be addressed and they should inform how to progress. A child with ODD won't necessarily need the same type of help as a 'stroppy teen' or a child who has been poorly parented.

I think considering an assessment is prudent and could be very worthwhile. Ask your GP about which specialist would be most appropriate.

TurnaroundSue

My ds has been like this since the age of 3 and we have been to school many, many times regarding his behaviour, so it isn't something that has just happened since he hit his teens. We have also sought outside medical help for him over the years but to no avail. He has had counselling and been given techniques for dealing with his anger, but he has never put these into practise so they never work. I have also had hypnotherapy/counselling myself as I feel that alot of his problems are down to the way we deal with things and over the years I haven't dealt with them very well at times. My OH on the other hand has been consistent in dealing with my ds's behaviour and sometime I think he has been too strict, sometimes he has been right. I have never displayed my feelings in front of my ds but have always told DH if I thought he wasn't right and this itself has led to conflict between us both. I will try anything, whereas my OH thinks we are doing it right anyway - he is quite a disciplinarion.

pandora205 wrote: »

ODD is a term that psychiatrists would (possibly) use following the American system of classification of mental disorders (DSM-IV). It doesn't necessarily relate to any 'treatment' other than that used for a range of similar difficulties, such as conduct disorder. The evidence base for most effective interventions places parent training at the top of the list.

Those of us who work in educational and community contexts tend not to use this label as it implies 'within child' difficulties, which can shift the focus away from the setting (school, family, community) where much of the effective work can be done. (I'm an educational psychologist by the way).

I have been trying to get answers from his comprehensive school for the last 5 years and am no further forward, and in fact only found out today that there is an Educational Psychologist attached to each secondary school - so why hasn't my ds and ourselves had dealings with them? I feel as far as the school is concerned I am hitting my head against a brick wall. I suppose if I am honest one of the reasons I would like to see if there is a diagnosis is because then I can tell the school that for all these years they have treated him like a naughty boy, there was in fact an underlying reason for his behaviours.



Sorry I am getting angry now and feeling very frustrated. I hope it hasn't come across that I am poo-pooing your comments/suggestions, as I am not; I am extremely grateful to you all for taking the time and posting.

Many thanks

ps sorry if it's a bit disjointed but lost the first half of my post when I saved it and so had to do it again

Pssst

Sounds like a load of old tosh to me.

PolishBigSpender

Pssst wrote: »

Sounds like a load of old tosh to me.

It's an excuse used by many parents to forgive the fact that their child is fundamentally badly behaved. I've done quite a bit of research into it online and found that many parents were making basic errors - or indeed, they were so sensitive that they couldn't handle even a bit of criticism from their child.

It's nothing that good parenting can't cure, however, 'Supernanny' style moderning parenting isn't the answer either.

To the original poster : What good do you think an assessment will be? Will it allow you to simply shrug off his problems, knowing that he has a 'disorder', or are you looking for the school to support you?

I think you've just fallen into the 'Google-fiend' syndrome that many parents fall into when they don't have the answers.

Jo_F

My son was sent to see a mental health specialist when he was 10 years old due to me reaching the end of my tether with his behaviour, and ODD was mentioned, but that was as far as the specialist went, said it was out of his field.

It's not down to my parenting, as his older sister does not have the same problems, and my son cannot give any reason at all for his behaviour, he can be a little angel, but he can also be the spawn of the devil.

With regard to the parenting, I have always made time for my children when they need it, (or even when they didnt), we always eat at the table as a family and they are not always stuck in front of a tv or playing computer games, we don't seem to be doing any of the things that the 'experts' say are down to the demise of families.

I can fully sympathise with the OP, I know how frustrating it can be, how it feels to think that you have failed your child, and how annoying it is when people say that it's just naughty behaviour.