What is oppositional defiant disorder?
Parents usually feel the brunt of their child's ODD behaviour.
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a disorder where children have disruptive and oppositional behaviour that is particularly directed towards authority figures, such as parents or teachers.
ODD is less severe and more common than conduct disorder.
Children with ODD are constantly defiant, hostile and disobedient. They don’t like responding to instructions or taking orders from others, and they actively refuse simple requests.
Sometimes they eagerly blame others for their own mistakes, can lose their temper easily, and act in an angry, resentful or touchy manner.
Oppositional: hostile or confrontational action or behaviour.
All children occasionally react in this way on a bad day or if upset by a situation, and many teenagers go through troublesome times. But children with oppositional defiant disorder are like this all the time, making them very hard to deal with.
The key behavioural symptoms of ODD are negative, hostile and defiant behaviour. For ODD to be diagnosed, symptoms have to have been present for at least six months and involve four or more of the following:
often loses temper
often argues with adults
often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults’ requests or rules
often deliberately annoys people
often blames others for his mistakes or misbehaviour
often touchy or easily annoyed by others
often angry and resentful
often spiteful or vindictive.
To be classified as ODD, the behaviour also has to have caused a significant degree of disturbance to home, social or school life.
How does it cause problems
For parents, having a child with ODD can be very difficult. ODD children can vary from being mildly oppositional to always being hostile.
A child with ODD will:
deliberately take the most difficult path, eg to say ‘no’ on principle
enjoy challenging and arguing with people
refuse to do what he’s...