Do you have a child that is acting out over little things? When you send your child to their room, does it not change their behavior? Do you, as the parent, constantly feel frustrated because you feel you are always battling with your child? I was able to answer yes to every one of those questions. It took me getting to my breaking point, to finally make an appointment with my daughter's pediatrician. It was then that I first learned about O.D.D (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). After speaking with her pediatrician, a therapist, and doing my own research, I had to teach myself a different style of parenting. What worked on the other kids, did not work on her. She believed she was my equal and would try to challenge me. She would try to parent her older sibling and correct them if they were in the wrong. Children with O.D.D. need structure in their life. They need to know what is going on and when. When I spoke with a therapist about her, she gave me a scenario that really helped to understand my child's point of view. She said most of us know what we will be doing tomorrow. For example, getting up at 6:00 a.m. to get ready for work, having breakfast, grabbing coffee, and so on. A child with O.D.D does not have that luxury. They do not know what they will be doing an hour from now. That is why they get so angry when they are used to something going a certain way and you change it. Something as simple as setting a schedule, or a routine, will help how they handle the function of their day. If they do something wrong you cannot yell at them, as they will challenge you. It will have no effect on changing their attitude, it feeds their anger, and they will continue to lash out. I am not saying everything changes over night. But the changes you make with your child in helping them deal with O.D.D. will show every day. The more you help them by supplying the necessary tools the more successful they will become. They will be more aware of how they are feeling and what they are thinking, and it will help them handle how they react to situations themselves, as they get older.
