ODD...Oppositional Defiance Disorder...What is it?

Oppostional defiance Disorder

I thought I would write a little on this disorder to put it out here as it also falls under the mental health title...A couple of years ago I am ashamed to say I myself would have thought this may have been an excuse for naughty behaviour in a child...Now that our family has been touched personally with a mental illness I can not afford to feel this way about any disorder... Mental illness is a hard thing for people to grasp and I think it is because you can not see it... Mental illness is in your own head and I feel people do not know enough about the brain to actually judge about their existance...

A few months back we had a friend of my sons staying with us and he had Oppositional Defiance Disorder... I will call it ODD for short from here on...We saw first hand just how this disorder is and what it does to not only the person who has it but also to the people around...I have looked up a few sites on this and thought I will try to summarize this here for people to give you an insight...But please if you are interested in this have a look at the external links provided...

ODD is characterized by an ongoing pattern of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behavior toward authority figures that goes outside the boundaries of normal childhood behavior. There are certain behaviours that need to be identified before a diagnosis can be given...There has to be at least 4 of the below behaviours and the child has to have been doing them for at least 6 months and happening every single day...This is not about just bad behaviour this is about defiant. hostile and disobedient behaviour affecting their life at school or in society in general...

Losing temper
Arguing with adults
Refusing to follow the rules
Deliberately annoying people
Blaming others
Easily annoyed
Angry and resentful
Spiteful or even revengeful

The treatment for this disorder in most times is a combination of Parent Management Training and an individualized Behavioral Modification Plan. Although each family is treated uniquely, there are certain qualities to this approach that are the same. For the best results with this a professional should work closely with the family...A professional can also be great to answer any questions and  keep an eye on everyones progress...Medication is not normally given for this disorder but if it is combined with another disorder then sometimes medication is given....

Menal illness is a part of life and one most of us know nothing about unless it has touched us personally in some way...I think getting some of these disorders out in the open for all to read can only benifit families like ours to help stop the stigma related to all mental illnesses...

These are my thoughts...What do you all think?

Thanks for taking the time to read this avice...
Have a great day
Cheers
Angie