ODD?

[cfredric]

Dad2brooke-
Here is another take on this situation. My son is four and was recently(officially) diagnosed with ADHD. We went Monday for his checkup with the neurologist. His regular dr was not in so we saw a new one. She saw the ADHD and recognized our frustration when whe expalined/told our story. She observed our son's behavior when he was having one his "bad" moments. She noticed that maybe some of behavior problems were associated with OCD. I have been suspicious of ODD and had not thought of OCD. Maybe the new dr is on to something. Have you considered this as a possible problem wih your daughter? Our son would be very defiant but the dr thinks that is more of an OCD thing than ODD.

[singnmommy]

First of all what is OCD? Blake has been diagnosed ODD and he does all the things described in this forum. He is 5 and officially diagnosed. I am going to read the articles linked in here and find out more info. I was looking for more information so thanks to all those who put articles. One of the things I have been told about ODD is that when it comes to certain things give 2 choices and if they argue remind them what their choices are. ADHD doesn't have a component where they are argumentative and violent, that comes with related disorders. Blake lies about everything, he is never to blame. He is defiant and has run away in parking lots. He NEVER does what he is told the first time. And so on and so forth... Good luck Dad2Brooke. I would like to commend you for being on these forum's because my hubby won't seek out help or find info. I can sympathize with you though. Good luck. We are here for you.

[Dad2Brooke]

singnmommy said:

Good luck Dad2Brooke. I would like to commend you for being on these forum's because my hubby won't seek out help or find info. I can sympathize with you though. Good luck. We are here for you.

Thanks for your kind words. Good luck to you as well.

[blaynesmama]

To Brookes dad,
My son was diagnosed today at his ped follow up appt with ADHD/ODD. HE is only 4.5 yrs old but has a severe case that is effecting our entire family life for about 2.5 yrs now. SO we are trying him on adderall that lasts 6 hrs to see if it helps. I understand what you guys are going through it has been hell here for a while now. We are hoping that this will work. His Dr just came back from a seminar that talked about ADHD and other behaviors and luckily he recognized it because the psychologist kept saying that he had tourettes which he does not so we wasted 3 visits with her focusing on something other than what our family issues were....best of luck to you

[MommysAngel]

I understand all to well the challenges of ODD! We have tried many things but it still seems that taking not no for an answer is always followed by a short tantrum and then some crying and pleading. We give choices of what to do and not to do and the reward and consequence. We give reasonable time for JD to make a decision and that is it! No more chances or one more trys! He is informed when it is his last warning and at that point there is no turning back no matter what! Reward charts for small daily goals like extra time to play a game or do a puzzle, bonus computer or playstation time and even a movie and popcorn! We also do a weekly goal for something special like McDonalds for lunch or Chuck E Cheese or a new toy or something with a $5.00 spending limit. Small rewards with consistent reinforcement of the rules of the house and we are seeing some strong improvement. We are not out of the woods but at least we have the map and we are in the right direction!
Remember that each day is a brand new day and we get another chance to show ourselves differently! With this and constant praise and expressions of love we are hopeful to see much inprovement by Thanksgiving. Remember, we must keep out goals and expectations of our children realistic and simple for them as well as ourselves

Best of luck to everyone and God Bless!

Cynthia

[shelly75964]

Oh my!!!!! I have been about ready to pull my hair out with my son. I have been thinking that he started his rebellious years really early!!! I have heard about ODD, thought my son could possibly have this along with his ADHD (which he is extremely ADHD). We just had our re-eval. with our Dr. last week, but didn't think to mention ODD. I think I will call them and see if they can recommend a child phsychiatrist that we can maybe go to. My husband hates phsychiatrists, he said that his mom sent him to one and he didn't get anything out of it. We have lots of trouble at school (he goes to public school) I have been thinking about sending him to a Prep. School. Not sure if I can afford it but I guess I will have to if problems persist. Keep us in your prayers...We are needing them..

[AnneM]

singnmommy said:

First of all what is OCD? Blake has been diagnosed ODD and he does all the things described in this forum.

Hi signmommy ... OCD is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which is often accompanied by 'rituals' (i.e. washing hands often, doing things "X" amount of times etc), by being possibly obsessive about germs. Insisting on things being done a "certain way" and doing things over and over again ....

ODD is totally different! ODD is Oppositional Defiant Disorder which means a frequent "NO" to requests and often defiance .... a complete refusal to comply.

Although similar in letters they are two totally different things.... GOOD LUCK!!

[dansmommy]

Anne -- My ds has symptoms of OCD and ODD and I think the two are related for him. He recently has been compelled to draw robots, then "brush" them away, and if he doesn't do it right he has to do it again, sort of a pure OCD thing. Sometimes, though, I may ask him to do something or he may come up with an idea of something that he HAS TO HAVE RIGHT NOW! The resulting tantrum when he doesn't get his way seems very ODD but I think these often have their roots in his feeling that he "has to have" whatever, due to obsessive ideas. Transitions are hard, often because he has to finish up something. We'd like to picture these worried-looking little kids with OCD, who can be reassured into doing what they're supposed to, but my experience is that it results in a lot more defiance than overt anxiety. Although the anxiety probably underlies the defiance. Anyway, just another viewpoint. Thanks, Christie

[swgiles]

My ds was recently diagnosed with ADHD and ODD about a month ago. We're about to start with a psychiatrist next week and would like to avoid meds as long as possible, but I'm to the point where I think if he doesn't get meds, I WILL!!

He's got all the classic signs, he will argue that the sky is purple until he's sobbing. He will lie and compound that lie when the proof is sitting right in front of him. He's goes off at the slightest provocation and reacts with hitting, screaming, and extremely over the top behaviors.

The aggression is the biggest concern. Our inquiring of his possibly having ADHD started when he developed a new fascination with knives and scissors over the summer. He stayed with a friend so we could celebrate our 10th anniversary in Nov. and when we picked him up the mom handed me a baggie with two pocket knives and several sharp screws that she retrieved from his pockets. HE'S ONLY 5 YEARS OLD! I'm petrified of what the future holds.

We adopted him from Russia two years ago and while I'm not using that as an excuse, obviously it factors in to the history of his mental health. He can be so sweet and loving and wants so desperately to be liked and accepted.

Sorry for the long ranting, it's just (as you all know) such a helpless feeling to feel that I have no way of reaching or controlling my son.

Thanks for listening.

[loveforeric]

Ralph;

I just asked for help with my Ds8, who needs to be yelled at before he will do what you ask. Or if you say no that is a whole discussion by him on why it has to be yes until yelling is involved... Wish I could help because I don't want Ds8 to grow up looling at his childhood in disdain...

I have done some research on ODD and have read that the Feingold elimination diet does help. Just signed up with the program...Fingers are crossed....

if you figure it out let me know...
Have a peaceful day,
Christina

[loveforeric]

Ralph;

I just asked for help with my Ds8, who needs to be yelled at before he will do what you ask. Or if you say no that is a whole discussion by him on why it has to be yes until yelling is involved... Wish I could help because I don't want Ds8 to grow up looling at his childhood in disdain...

I have done some research on ODD and have read that the Feingold elimination diet does help. Just signed up with the program...Fingers are crossed....

if you figure it out let me know...
Have a peaceful day,
Christina

[mctavish23]

Hi,
Interesting question.There's no set date of onset given for ODD. My understanding is that it generally manifests itself in early childhood. ADHD for example, shows hyperactvity symptoms around the ages of 3-5.In essence , hyperactivity is the pre school manifestation of ADHD. Often times that is accompanied by ODD, altho that is certainly not a given. Real/true/pure ODD only supposedly goes away around ages 7-8. I have this written down in some workshop notes but I'm too lazy to go get them right this second...lol

If you wanted to get really picky you could refer to ODD as a mood disorder in the sense of the way it impacts behavior(not as an artifact of depression or bipolar) .There are certainly some great books out there to deal with this topic. Some of my favorites are: 1) 123 Magic ...by Thomas Phalen,PhD; 2)Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP).... by Dinkmeyer & McKay; and 3) Your Defiant Child...by Russell Barkley, PhD.

I hope this helps some and I wish you all good luck in dealing with this. Realisitically, I believe we're all doing the best we can at any one given point in time. Take care.

mctavish23

[ohmama]

I have a theory about ODD behavior. I see it as a reflection of how the child feels about himself. It's no ones fault. Like a relationship to depression in a way? It's not about who they are abusing at the time with their rebellion and nasty mouth behavior. Though it is easy to take personal when the behavior is directed at you. It has something to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain. Maybe the serotonin is out of wack since this has so much to do with personal feelings? At any rate, not to make an excuse for them but I really think it can't be helped and needs a med or natural alternative to increase a brain chemical output?

[MomA]

Brooke's Dad,

I feel for you. I had a similar post a few weeks ago trying to figure out where that line is that makes something ODD vs. stubborn/oppositional-but-regular kid. Or regular ADHD symptoms.

My boy turns 7 next week.

At this numb point, I've come to think that most of it is just his ADHD (as the therapist folks say it is). ADHD kids do feed off stimulation and instant rewards--our reaction being the reward. But a good deal is just regular kid stuff.

In my house, there's so much darn yelling going on sometimes now, that I'm sure my husband and I have fallen back into the trap...whatever trap that is.

We're regrouping, and I'll use some of the advice others have answered you with.

I don't want his memories to be of us yelling either.

[sierra]

Any doc tells me ODD goes away by age 8 I'll have my hand out asking for a refund. I'm pushing 50 and I'm still ODD. Just sneakier about it.

And Li'l Sprout his ODD is going through the roof again now that he's starting to have hormones sloshing out of his ears. I'll grant he calmed down some after age 8 or so. But it was the calm before the storm. Now he's getting sneaky too. Good thing I pretty much know exactly what's going through his mind since my mind works the same way.