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Home › Articles › Social Issues › Is Something Wrong?

Is Something Wrong?

ODD in Focus

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Brian* was a very irritable and frustrated baby and toddler. "The slightest thing would set him off," says his mother, Kay*. "If he didn't get what he was asking for at that moment, he would throw himself on the floor and have a fit or even try to hit me."

His behavior became progressively worse and more difficult to manage as time went on, and when he was 5, his parents took him to see a child psychologist. Because they have two older girls who never exhibited behavior similar to that of Brian's, his parents were afraid that something might be "wrong" with him. Brian displayed some of the symptoms that categorize oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).

One of the most essential things that Brian's parents learned from the therapy they have been undergoing is that there is no one approach to parenting.

"I see now that we have to be more lax with Brian than with the girls, and that's fine, it just takes some getting used to," says Kay. Through extensive behavioral management training, they are learning to tailor their style of parenting to meet Brian's needs. They have come to understand that Brian is an individual with needs very different from their daughters.

"One of the good things that has come out of our therapy is that I'm a lot less frustrated because I'm trying to understand where Brian's behavior stems from, and I think that our relationship is improving because of it," says Kay.

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.

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