ODD?

[homemademomma]

Any parents with kids who suffer from ODD or related disorders? I'm losing it over here. 

[goobergrl6]

Yep. Not official yet but his psychologist said he is pretty sure he has it. (about to be confirmed in the next few days when we go back). My son is 5. Today the school called and I might have to go pick him up....

Lisa

[Emmeline II]

Yes. Though ODD seldom travels alone; there is usually a co-morbid neuropsychiatric disorder such as ADHD, which is the case with my ds. If you can I'd get an eval at a behavior clinic by a developmental-behavioral ped led team.

The ADHD medication resulted in about a 75% improvement in ds' behavior initially, but we've also been working with a CBT on behavior for the past year. 1st grade was a huge improvement over ds' non-medicated Kinder year. So far this year the only issue we've had in school is some impulsive misbehavior in the bathroom after lunch and very few issues at home .

Children With Oppositional Defiant Disorder...

• Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder Reference Page

[homemademomma]

Yes, his psych thinks he might have ADHD. I need to find a dev ped to explore other issues too. I am so overwhelmed. We got a notice from our condo management that we are going to be kicked out if we can't get his tantrums under control. He is screaming, yelling, banging & slamming doors etc. We are doing our best, and we implemented a rigid schedule that seems to be helping somewhat. But this morning, for example, I thought we were doing great until he decided he didn't want to wear his helmet on our bike ride to school, so he was screaming, throwing things etc OUTSIDE where everyone could hear. He broke his helmet and my purse strap, and we ended up having to drive to school because we were so late by the time I got him under control. I am just SO SICK of reading about how ODD is essentially all my fault. 

[Emmeline II]

You may have recourse against being booted from your condo if your ds has a diagnosed disability.

Google Search: Connecticut disabled rights

http://www.google.com/search?q=conneticut+disabled+rights&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
 

[homemademomma]

THANK YOU!
 

Originally Posted by Emmeline II 

You may have recourse against being booted from your condo if your ds has a diagnosed disability.

Google Search: Connecticut disabled rights

http://www.google.com/search?q=conneticut+disabled+rights&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
 

[homemademomma]

Emmeline, I got your PM. My computer HATES mdc, and for some reason will not let me reply to you. I just wanted to say thank you! The links seem very helpful.

[SeekingBalance]

ODD is not your fault, or the fault of your parenting. I thought my son might have ODD, but as we have begun treating his ADHD with medication, much of the oppositional behaviour has abated. Things are SO much better. ODD often accompanies something else, and when you treat the "something else" the ODD is less of an issue. I think they have so much internal struggle, that they struggle externally for some control. Get the brain chemistry under control... I'm not sure how it works, but I wish I could show you a before and after at my house. We're all so much happier. My son is happily going to school, doing the "bonus homework," participating with other children in a cooperative and gregarious way. Good luck... many of us have been there and it can and will get better.

[khaoskat]

One thing to potentially consider is Sleep Disturbances as well.  sleep problems in children can often come out or appear as ODD and even ADHD in children.

As well as exploring the option(s) of the DX of ODD/ADHD, I would speak to your pediatrician about having him sleep tested (ie sleep study done).

My eldest was DX as ODD and later had a sleep study done, turned out he had obstructive sleep apnea and allergies which resulted in him not getting quality sleep, even though he would be asleep for 12 hours.  he was having waking episodes on average 1x/hr.

My middle we caught the sleep problems because he was acting out, but more along the lines of sensory issues and other things behavior wise.  We were referred to dev. peds (after showing what happened when he got so focused on ensuring chairs were properly lined up in his row and us trying to redirect him).  They referred for a sleep study, and he had PLM/RLS, along with low iron.  6 months on iron suppliments and he was doing good. Now he is no longer taking it, we are starting to see slippage back into some of the old ways...especially the tantrums and melt downs.

[HuntressMother]

Yup. We have an ODD 6 year old DD ( who also has ADHD, OCD and AS as well as being dsylexic) AND after dealing with horrible tantrums from our 3 year old over EVERYTHING from eating to trying to potty train- he was also dx'ed.

DD is doing much better while on her medication, but it seems to be getting harder everyday with DS. He will pee in the potty but refuses to poop. He fights about eating, shows NO intrest in the rewards that he gets for doing good nor making us ( or  himself ) proud. He likes to pester everyone as well as hurt our cat. He likes to control everything we do. He likes to tell us what he wants to eat and after we fix it, he says 'no, i want_____'. We will fix him what he asked for this time, and he wants what he just said he didnt want. Its very challenging.  He doesnt respond to time outs or us removing his toys ect..nor does he respond to rewards/praise for good behaviour. So, we're just stuck.

Hes such a sweet and smart boy and somedays are great...and others are full of horrible tantrums and crying ( from the both of us! lol ). He has expressed intrest in going to play school this year. I though this would be a good motivator for the potty training issues that we've been having. But-not at all.

Its very hard. We really just dont know what to do from here. We've been ignoring his negative behaviour/removing him from the situation and rewardsing him for good behaviour. Maybe, if we ignore it- he will get the picture that his tantrums and negative behaviour will not get him anywhere.