by Jeanette Mcdonough

Created on: May 27, 2008   Last Updated: January 17, 2009

Children who demonstrate a persistent tendency to defy their parents, teachers and other adults, display a tendency to harass or badger other children may be diagnosed as having oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). While it is common to encounter a child that is occasionally rebellious, the ODD child takes rebellion to a whole new level. A child who is ODD has a tendency to argue incessantly with adults and other children. They are also particularly defiant against authority figures. This leads to trouble in school, at home and in society at large. In addition, they have the unfortunate tendency to blame others when something goes wrong (Kane, 2008). Unfortunately this diffusion of responsibility leads them to make the same mistakes over and over.

*ODD Children at home

ODD children can create havoc is the household as they often pit members of the family against each other. These children can be extremely manipulative. Another frequent and disturbing behavior in ODD children is that they are often vindictive about real or imagined insults and injustices causing many to justify acts of vandalism or aggression. This all may contribute to emotional problems for the siblings of ODD children, and the whole family may need some form of intervention to keep the family unit intact.

*Troubles at school and on the job

In school the ODD child may perform badly. Because they refuse to follow instructions, they often fail to complete assignments properly and more often they fail to even do the work. In addition, their anger management issues often result in conflicts and fighting which can make them a problem for the whole class. As ODD children enter the workforce they often have great difficulty modifying this disruptive behavior, and often have trouble keeping a job.

*Diagnosing a child for ODD

Health care professionals generally make the diagnoses of ODD after a referral from a school professional. Because most of the symptoms are behavioral, an assessment will be made according to a child's personal history rather than through medical examinations. There are two behaviorist lines of thought about what causes ODD (Kane, 2008). One theory suggests that the child has not developed completely. This hypothesis suggests that the child becomes stuck in behavior that is normal in children at a much younger age.

Another theory presented by behaviorist for ODD is that a learned behavior that has been reinforced by the adults around them. They get plenty of feedback from those around

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