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Home › Articles › Discipline › Tantrums, Tempers and Tears

Tantrums, Tempers and Tears

Could Your Child Have ODD?

By Tamar Weiss

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Treatment for children with ODD is generally behavioral. According to Dr. Antell, Intensive Applied Behavior Management Training for parents is the best approach. This entails a behavioral plan specifically crafted to an individual child and family. Particular factors which result in the defiant behavior will be identified and targeted, and specific reinforces and consequences of a child's behavior will be appropriated to the age and developmental stage of the child.

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 which categorize ODD, although his psychologist prefers to treat the problem rather than dwell on the label. Brian's mother explains that "it has not been an easy road, and we still have issues to deal with, but I do see improvement with Brian."

boy One of the most essential things that Brian's parents learned from the therapy they have been undergoing is 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 change their style of parenting to one that is comfortable for both Brian and themselves. They have come to understand that Brian is an individual with needs very different from their daughters. Realizing this important difference and learning to readjust has helped them all a great deal. "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."


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