ODD a Rant

Hello everyone, please excuse me while I have a little rant this morning……………………………

As some will know my 9yr old grandson has Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ODD he also has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, these are really medical conditions and not some lame ass excuse to excuse bad behaviour in children like some people and members of the family think, I will not mention names but those who think this know who they are.

For those who do not know ODD is a suppose to be a childhood behavioural problem but my eldest daughter who is 31 and my nephew who is 18 both still have ODD so I don’t think it is just a childhood condition. Also more boys than girls have the condition, with the ratio of two to one.

ODD is one of a group of behavioural disorders know collectively as disruptive behaviour disorders, which include conduct disorder (CD) and ADHD.

Those who have this disorder do not react well to bossy people who they consider as bullies, you need to speak to them in a calm tone, demanding they do something or yelling and going crazy will not work. They will become argumentative and will not back down easy, they do not get the whole I am the adult you are the child you have to do what I said thing.

Children with ODD can become easily angered, annoyed or irritated, they have frequent temper tantrums and argue frequently with adults particularly those they are most likely to interact with. It is not uncommon for them to refuse to obey rules if they don’t understand why the rule applies. They seem to deliberately try to annoy or aggravate others but often that isn’t what they are intending to do.

They have a low self-esteem as well as a low frustration threshold and often will seek to blame others for accidents because they fear getting into trouble.

The condition is treated best with the aid of medication, medication allows the child to remain calm and concentrate and it reduces the amount of flare ups the child has. Also some people would do with parental training to help the parents better manage and interact with the child usually this is the first step in treatment but from personal experience medication is a big part of treatment.

These children do not just need more discipline to behave right, they need to be spoken to and interacted with a little different from a child who doesn’t have ODD. This is something some I know do not get. Also many who have the condition may be on medication for their whole childhood and into their adult years, some may need medication their whole life. So family members and those who are in the suffers life need to understand that and not make the child feel something is wrong with them because they need medication.

At my grandson’s school there are many children who need some form of medication each day so children like my grandson do feel different because they need medication.

Saying the child is “just like their parent” in a negative way is wrong or saying that you hope any other sibling doesn’t turn out the same way is also in my opinion wrong, it is like you are saying the parent of effected child is in some way inferior and that is so wrong.

These children are often quiet bright and are deep thinkers and can have a lot of patience with younger children I don’t know why that it is but it is what I have seen in those I know with ODD.

With my grandson it is wrong to compare him to his older cousin they are very different boys and I love them both equally and differently just as I love both my granddaughters the same and differently because even though they are sisters they are also individuals.