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Regular Features
THE
PARENT COACH
Dr.
Steven Richfield provides articles on many different aspects of raising a child
with ADHD.
ASK
THE ADVOCATE
Each
month we our advocate will be answering questions from our visitors about yours
and your children's rights in the educational system.
PARENTS
TALK
A mother is trying to help her teenage son learn anger management.
MOTIVATION
TIPS
Five great ideas for motivation, including The Shoe Race, Trading Places
and more.
ORGANIZATION
TIPS
Organize your child at home, and maybe find some tips that will help you
as well.
ADHD
IN THE NEWS
Headlines about ADHD, Learning Disability and Mental Disorders
Study on ADD and TV
The recent study published on watching television between the ages of one and
three and the possible link to ADD/ADHD did not take many considerations into
account. The author of the study even admits that he cannot conclude that
television watching and ADD/ADHD are linked.
Read the
Article
Oppositional Defiance Disorder
The following is an overview of Oppositional Defiance Disorder. For further information on ODD, links are provided at the bottom of the page.
Differences Between ODD and ADHD
The following symptoms must be present for more than six
months and are measured against the norm for the specific age group:
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Often losing temper |
|
Argumentative |
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Aggressive |
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Defiance of adult rules |
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Uncooperative |
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Deliberately aggravating others |
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Easily irritated |
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Being angry or resentful |
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Blaming others for own misbehavior |
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Low self-esteem |
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Easily frustrated |
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Moody |
All of the above symptoms do not need to be present.
Diagnostic criteria states that four or more of the above symptoms must be
present for at least 6 months. As
with many disorders, symptoms may appear differently in different individuals.
Symptoms of ODD normally appear prior to the age of 8. Many times these patterns of behavior can occur between the ages of 1 and 3.
ODD is diagnosed by a mental health professional.
An evaluation will include speaking with the child, speaking with the
parents, and a review of medical history. A
physical exam should be completed to rule out any physical causes.
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Family and/or individual therapy |
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Behavior modification |
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Structured environment |
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Social skills training |
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Parent Training |
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Medication, if necessary |
Oppositional Defiance Disorder is rarely seen alone.
Most children diagnosed with ODD have also or will be diagnosed with at
least one other neuropsychiatric disorder.
Some common co-existing conditions are:
|
ADD/ADHD |
|
Depression |
|
Anxiety |
Differences
between ADHD and ODD
While ODD is characterized by aggressiveness, ADHD is
characterized by impulsiveness. Other
children and adults may become irritated with the behavior and impulsiveness of
ADHD children, however, this behavior is not normally done to purposely annoy
others. With ODD, however, many
times it is purposeful and meant to annoy and irritate those around them.
For parents of children with ODD, every conversation can
become a power struggle. Temper
tantrums and rages can become a common occurrence and often the child with ODD
feels no remorse for their actions. They
will lie and blame others for their actions.
They may break other children’s toys or purposely drive them to tears.
They often become bullies and fight continuously with siblings.
What can parents do to help their child to cope and to make
living a little easier for the entire family?
1) Work together. Although this may sound easy, it is actually quite difficult. Children with ODD can be very manipulative. They can try to convince their mother that their teacher hates them and mistreats them, they can tell their father how their mother treats the other children better and is mean to them. They can tell the teacher about how they are abused at home. Much of this has to do with blaming others for their actions and refusing responsibility. Some may be because they have learned over time that the more discord they can create among the adults in their life, them more attention is drawn away from them. It is important, therefore, to sit down with all the adults that are in your child’s life. Have information available on ODD, what it is and what are the symptoms. Decide as a group that you will not believe anything that is said by the child without checking it out first. If he should come home from school with a story on how the teacher singled him out and punished him for no reason, take the time to talk with the teacher and find out what is going on before taking any action.
2) Make a plan. Decide beforehand what the consequences will be for certain actions. Take the time to think about every scenario that might come up and determine a consequence and a reward for each. Write it down and make copies for each adult in your child’s daily life. If your child is old enough to read, make a copy for them. Make sure each person follows it. Consistency and structure will eliminate the possibility of the child playing one adult off another.
3) Choose one or two behaviors to work on at one time. Do not try to change all negative behavior at the same time. If your child has frequent temper tantrums or uses profane language or hits other children, choose one of these to begin with. Once you have gained control of that behavior, move on to another.
4) Use as little emotion as possible when reacting to a behavior. Children with ODD can relish the reaction their behavior can cause. If you limit the negative attention and remain calm while reacting and referring to a consequence, then they will not have the satisfaction of your anger.
5) Reduce the amount of time your child watches television. Have a list of positive, productive games, tasks and activities. Monitor your child to make sure that they do not spend hours watching television.
6)
Take care of yourself. Many
time children with ODD will try to control the entire family, as well as
exploiting weaknesses. Make sure
that you take care of yourself so that you are prepared and can calmly deal with
your child. Find some time to be by
yourself, find some time for your husband and you to be alone together.
Although parents never want to place their child on
medication, sometimes it is necessary to do so.
Your physician will discuss with you what medications might work best and
the side effects of each. Because
ODD is rarely seen alone in a child (normally there are other co-existing
conditions) medication must work together if the child is on medication for
another disorder. Always
be sure to use medications under a doctor’s care.
A few of the medications sometimes used to control ODD are:
|
Clonidine |
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Risperidal |
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Zyprexa |
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Seroquel |
Indicators for ODD-Common behavioral traits of children with ODD.
Diagnostic Criteria-From Internet Mental Health criteria used in the diagnosis of ODD
Treatment-Current treatment methods for ODD
Power Struggles-It takes two for a power struggle to develop. Disengaging yourself can eliminate the struggle.
Could Something Really Be Wrong With My Difficult Child?-If you think that there is something "wrong" with your child, chances are you are right. Trust your own judgement and intuition.