General Chat

Has anyone any experience of this syndrome?
I'd never heard of it,but they think my great granddaughter aged 12 could possibly have it.

She has always been a bit touchy,but since going to her secondary school she is causing a lot of problems and it is affecting her siblings with her behaviour.

I read that it is on the Autism spectrum..but wonder if this is just being on the averge of becoming a teenager!

Sorry Brenda but what does ODD mean - I had to ask.

Oppositional defiant disorder

Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a childhood disorder that is characterized by negative, defiant, disobedient and often hostile behavior toward adults and authority figures primarily. In order to be diagnosed, the behaviors must occur for at least a period of 6 months

Sounds a bit like a teenager too

Impossible to say, but having been a teenager myself with an older sister, raising 4 daughters of my own and having 2 teenage granddaughters at present, I would suggest it is a combination of raging hormones and not liking school much at the moment.

My sister was a nightmare for months, but settled down eventually......she hated school and blamed everyone else for everything.

An ex boyfriend's son was diagnosed with ODD at age 9. Prior to his diagnosis I just thought he was a 'vile child' :-D I no longer have contact but I have heard that at age 20+ he is still the same.

Chris

It certainly sounds like typical teenage behaviour to me. There are a great range of behavioural and growing-up 'problems' under the autism umbrella.

I think I was the same but, strangely, it passed by the time I reached 18.

My daughter was the same, my son was not.

Brenda, daughter turned out wonderful so don't worry too much - although that's easy for me to say.

Sounds like my wife.

That's the way to do it, Bob.

A grown-up teenager - wish I'd thought of it.

Brenda, don't take this the wrong way but ODD ? Do you think she's having you on or is it a real diagnosis? It's only because of the initials that I ask as it sounds like a leg-pull.

Joy ..this is a genuine recognised disorder.
There are so many syndromes these days...never heard of this in my day
Google it!

Strikes me, everything that makes a person different to the perceived 'norm' as decreed by some poxy 'academic' is given a name and registered as a syndrome!
Sounds like an over bolshy teenager to me.

As a child, and well into my 20's (I stopped when I had children - but started again when they were older teenagers) I used to regularly go for walks in the dark. My parents (obviously) tried to stop me. Dad sort of understood, but was worried about my safety.
I wasn't doing it to defy them, as I carried on after I left home, but I'm sure, nowadays it would be given a name.
I was a tense child, and just found walking in the dark, alone, relaxing.

It was on one of these walks, in the 70's that David Bowie jumped out of his touring coach behind the Mayflower in Southampton, and floored me! He was very apologetic and offered me tickets to his show. As I was in walking mode, I just got up, said 'no problem' and carried on walking!!!!!
Not the 'normal' reaction from a 17 year old Bowie fan, but walking in the dark just zoned me out and cut me off.- and was slightly safer than drugs, and much cheaper :-D :-D :-D

Well, I've goggled it and I don't think it can be within the autism spectrum whose symptoms are love of routines, sensory activity, special interests and learning difficulties - that's from the autistic website. I have seen this type of behaviour before and I believe one can tell that something's not quite right (for want of a medical description) in children and adults who display it. I think it's something a person is born with and it occurs in various degrees. I've always thought autism was due to a chemical imbalance or something going a little wrong in the womb - but I'm sure someone will keep me right there.

The Mayo Clinic seems to have ODD listed but is that a private clinic with psychiatrists and psychologists to keep occupied? (Call me a cynic.)

All in all, I agree with MaggieW as it sounds like bolshie teenage behaviour and naughty children 'going their ends' to get their own way - and some try it on more than others do.

What I do know is that some teenagers give their parents a harder time than others but I think they're just finding their feet, so to speak and nothing wrong in that as far as I'm concerned.

My daughter was diagnosed with dyspraxia when she was nearly 40. I thought she was just clumsy. If she had had this diagnosis while at university, apparently her BA would have been upgraded from 2:1 to 1st.

The Mayo Clinic is an enormous network of medical facilities in the USA that is on the leading edge of treatment for many diseases and conditions. It is private in the sense that all health care in the US is private, except for the few public hospitals and clinics. People's private insurance if they have it (or medicare if they are old or very low income) covers the treatment they receive.

The Mayo maintains a website that provides reliable professional information for people googling their symptoms or their diagnosis. (Google probably gives it priority in search results because it is professional and reliable.)

Oppositional defiant disorder is very definitely a recognized condition. It really is more serious, for the people subject to the child's behaviour, than moody teenager. For instance, it can involve violence. It isn't just occasional or even frequent defiance, it is defiance and worse as a pattern and for no reason.

And yes, it basically boils down to 'vile child'. I'm not really sure what called for it being called a disorder rather than a behavioural problem, but there you are.

The Mayo site says that O.D.D. can lead to the more serious 'conduct disorder' which it describes as:

'It is not uncommon for children and teens to have behavior-related problems at some time during their development. However, the behavior is considered to be a conduct disorder when it is long-lasting and when it violates the rights of others, goes against accepted norms of behavior and disrupts the child's or family's everyday life.'

I think the main value in getting a 'diagnosis' is that the child will more likely get mental health services before he or she ends up behind bars as a result of the behaviour, and trying to find its causes may lead to a way to help the child cope in better ways.

I'm sorry your great granddaughter seems to be having some problems.

12 is a difficult age especially with the stresses some children feel with their entry to senior school.

I hate labelling children and unless there is a definitive diagnosis, which if the parents are concerned they should get, how about trying a different approach.

In order to get to the bottom of teenage problems the child needs to be able to talk with someone they trust to take their concerns seriously. That may be a family friend or a relative who is one step away from the immediate family.

It's possible she is just being stroppy and testing the boundaries, feels under pressure with her school work, is being bullied, has a health worry or feels that she doesn't fit in. A myriad of problems as adults we can verbalise to the right person, as a child any of the above can seem overwhelming and not easy to solve or even share.

I wish you luck.

x