ODD, oppositional defiant disorder, is defined by therapists as a cluster of behaviors that include many or all of the following characteristics:
How can a parent know if an adolescent child is just going through the pains of growing up or has a serious behavioral issues that requires therapeutic intervention?
If this pattern of behavior has become the usual emotional state of your teenager, he or she may have oppositional defiant disorder, ODD. ODD can disrupt home and family life, other relationships, and school performance.
This can be a particularly frustrating disorder, because your adolescent generally believes he or she has just cause to be so angry. The child may blame parents, peers, teachers, or other authority figures for the behavior, claiming others are unreasonable, oppressive, annoying, or just plain wrong.
The signs of oppositional defiance disorder tend to show up during pre-adolescence, around ages 7 to 13. At first you may notice that although your child is becoming hostile and unmanageable in the home, they do not present these same behaviors to the public or outside world. This can cause parents to become confused, possibly making them feel guilt, because they "must have done something" to cause the hostility. Over time, however, the child's behavior will also deteriorate in school, and teachers may begin to complain about your child's attitude in class. A typical student in this stage of ODD will be disruptive in class, disrespectful of teachers and other authority figures, aggressive toward peers, and generally act like a malcontent.
Behavior modification and other therapeutic interventions are the only answer for a teen with ODD. Ignoring this serious set of symptoms will allow your child's behavior to continue to deteriorate and interfere with his or her social behavior, academic performance, and ability to take responsibility for his or her life as an adult.
Wilderness programs can have an enormous impact on kids with ODD. The structure of therapeutic wilderness programs requires a child to recognize his or her role in the group. A teen learns to take responsibility for his or her behavior and learns to recognize the self-defeating behaviors of ODD. They begin to recognize that such negative, hostile attitudes do nothing to create a harmonious and successful life among his or her peers.
If signs have become more severe and include physical acts of violence towards property or other people, or if your child has begun to commit criminal acts such as stealing, he or she may be suffering from a more serious Conduct Disorder.