OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER

WHAT IS ODD?

WHAT IS ODD?

• Ongoing pattern of hostile, defiant, uncooperative, and annoying behaviour towards all authority figures
• Behaviour disrupts learning so that the teacher is always "putting out fires"
• Pervasive at school and at home

DSM CRITERIA

• Often loses temper
• Often argues with adults
• Often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults' requests or demands
• Often deliberately annoys people
• Often blames others for his or her behaviour
• Is often touchy or easily annoyed
• Often angry or resentful
• Is often spiteful and vindictive

WHAT CAUSES IT?

• ODD is not behaviour that is deliberately willed or chosen by the student to make your life more difficult
• It is caused by a delay in the development of the skills of frustration management, flexibility, and adaptability

...AND WHAT CAUSED THAT?

• Environment
• Genetics
• Biology/Medical problems

1. ENVIRONMENT

• Inconsistent, unnurturing, or overly harsh parenting style
• If the mother smokes during pregnancy, the child is 2-3 times more likely to develop ODD
• Dysfunctional family life

2. GENETICS

• A vulnerability to the disease may be inherited
• Many children with ODD may have family members with mental illnesses such as mood disorders, personality disorders, anxiety or depression

3. BIOLOGY

• Defects or injuries to certain parts of the brain
• A normal amounts of neurotransmitters in the brain
• Other mental illnesses present in child

PREVALENCE

• Approx. 6-10% of children and teens
• More common in boys

TREATMENT

• Medical intervention
• Behavioural managment
• Pyschotherapy
• Parent management training training
• Family therapy
• Pro-social skills training

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES

• Create a positive and nurturing environment
• Develop rapport
• Set clear expectations and boundaries
• Opportunities for meaningful participation

MAIN GOALS:

• Avoid power struggles or confrontations
• Understand function of challenging behaviours
• Understand the developmental level of student
• Increase positive interactions between adults and students

POSITIVE BEHAVIOURAL SUPPORTS

• Alter physical environment
• Maintain predictability
• Offer more choices
• Offer positive feedback
• Teach replacement skills
• (Ruef, Higgins, Glaeser and Patnode, 1998)

...CON'T

• Behaviour Contracts
• Forming a multidisciplinary team
• Remain calm, use neutral voice, don't react agressively

WHAT ABOUT CONSEQUENCES?

• Punitive measures proven not to be effective
• Natural consequences in the classroom are better

"Think of defiance as an opportunity to teach students something new."
(Kohn, 1996)