Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Children- What happens to them?

Children who are diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) have 4 possible paths to take.

1. Some will grow out of it. Half of the preschoolers that are labeled ODD are normal by the age of 8. However, in older children, 75% will still fulfill the diagnostic criteria later in life.
2. It may turn into something else. 5-10 % of preschoolers with ODD have their diagnosis changed to ADHD. In some children, the defiant behavior gets worse and these children eventually are diagnosed with conduct disorder. This progression usually happens fairly early. If a child has ODD for 3-4 years and he hasn't developed Conduct Disorder, then they most likely will not develop it.
3. The child may continue to have ODD without any thing else. This is unusual. By the time preschoolers with ODD are 8 years old, only 5% have just this condition and nothing else.
4. The child develops other disorders. This is the most common outcome.

Therefore, be proactive in getting help now. There is a lot you, as a parent can learn and implement that will make a significant impact on your child's behavior. There are new things you can always learn...don't hesitate to get the extra parenting help you might need. Check out the Total Transformation program for free right now. 

Strong Willed Children - 7 Helpful Tips

Do you have a difficult or strong willed child? Do they constantly challenge your rules, question your actions and in general, push your buttons? Are you mentally and emotionally exhausted all the time from the constant attention you give to dealing with their behaviors? Are you frustrated and feel like NOTHING YOU TRY WORKS? If so, you are not alone, but you do need help!

There is no doubt, your job as a parent is no walk in the park. Let me encourage you and give you some tips that may help.

Tip #1- Don't give up.

Your child needs you weather they know it or not. Determine in your mind that you will work with your child no matter how tired, hopeless or frustrated you are. Commit to this. This commitment most likely will involve you taking action to learn new and different ways of parenting your child. If everything you have tried has not worked, it simply means you need to learn what will work. And you can learn this. There are answers, and there are PROVEN methods that will make a difference. My favorite authors on this subject are James and Janet Lehman.  They share what they have learned over the course of 30+ years in in working with difficult, defiant, out of control and odd children and teens. 

 

Tip #2- Seek out help.

The first step here may be in educating yourself. If what you are currently doing is not working, then you need to actively seek out new methods for dealing with your child. Parenting is a course in continuing education....the learning and growing never stops. Another benefit of Dr. Lehman's program is that he has a monthly support newsletter, online podcasts, an active blogging community and content rich articles.

Tip #3- Be Consistent in your Discipline.

Let your NO be NO 100% of the time. They will naturally challenge you to see if you really will do what you said you would do. This is hard to do, I know. However, the payoff is worth it. If children learn that they can get what they want by pushing you, they will. However, if they learn that you mean what you say, they will eventually stop trying. They become programed to your behavior.

Tip #4- Don't Yell.

Yelling doesn't help, and it teaches them to yell. You can have a stern voice that alerts them that there is a problem, but it does not require yelling. If you yell, you are simply teaching them that it is okay to yell when they want to express their emotions. Again, children live what they learn. Our job is to learn HOW to stay calm. We need to be the calm parent, rather the one who simply reacts poorly to our child's bad behavior.

Tip #5- Ignore Tantrums if possible.

If you have a child who throws tantrums, I suggest putting them in a safe, yet isolated place (like their room) and walk away. Ignore the behavior, while not allowing it to ruin whatever is going on with the rest of the family. Remember, negative attention is still attention.

If you have a teenager who does this, I would listen to them completely, showing no emotional response AT ALL. Then, when they are finished, simply sum up what they said, insert the word "And", restate your answer that caused the outburst, then excuse yourself from the conversation.

The result: you listened, you restated what they said so they knew you heard them, you stuck with your answer, and then left the situation so as not to enter into an argument or yelling match.

Tip #6- Make a reward chart to catch them being good.

If you know your child, you know what motivates them- a new toy, an ice cream, going to the movies, whatever. Create a reward chart and place a sticker on it whenever you catch them being good. After "x" amount of stickers, give them the reward.

Tip #7- Make sure your child knows the rules and the consequences.

Repeating your expectations and then having them repeat them, back to you in their own words is a great way to do this. It also solves the problem of them using the excuse of "I didn't know!"

In conclusion, parenting a strong-willed, difficult, behavior defiant or out of control child or teenager is hard. There are always new things you can learn and implement to help get things back under control in your family. You simply have to be willing to take that step and invest in your child and their future.

I hope these tips get you going in the right direction!