Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Signs and Symptoms

Typical signs and symptoms of ODD include:

• Frequent temper tantrums
• Excessive arguing with adults
• Active defiance and refusal to comply with adult requests and rules
• Deliberate attempts to annoy or upset people
• Blaming others for their mistakes or misbehavior
• Often being irritable or easily annoyed by others
• Frequent anger and resentment
• Talking in a mean and hateful way when upset
• Seeking revenge

Evaluation and Diagnoses

A child with ODD hears a lot of negative comments about themself. If ODD is not diagnosed, these negative comments can end up impacting a child’s self-esteem and this can lead to a variety of other mental health issues. ODD is usually diagnosed in early childhood.

Treatment

A psychotherapist can treat ODD. 

Comprehensive treatment for ODD needs to occur over a long period of time. Treatment needs to individually address each of the causes for the child’s behaviors. Depending of the particular situation, different treatments may be needed. Treatment of ODD may include parent management training and medications.

It is important to note that inoculation approaches are not effective. Inoculation approaches are “scared straight” methods that try to prevent the behavior by scaring the child with the consequences of the behavior. Examples of these approaches include putting a child in jail for a few days or sending them boot camp.

If ODD is affecting the child’s ability to learn, adjustments may need to be made in their education program.