oppositional defiant disorder

There is plenty of information on the internet. Just do a “google” search on “oppositional defiant disorder” and have a ball. There is information and suggestions for working with the student.

There is some evidence that this, like ADHD and autism, is neurologically based (not merely learned behavior as many want to tell us) and that it is in the same region of the brain as obsessive-compulsive disorder. What may happen is the person “gets stuck” on “no” and for the life of him or her cannot drop it and move past it. Therefore, everything becomes a battle.

I personally find these children (when they have the condition in spades and have been given in to at home since the get-go) very difficult to deal with. They really require a great deal of energy to teach and stay one step ahead of.

I’ve used the strategies described by Ross W. Greene in “The Explosive Child” with great success. I like how he explains such children and helps adults understand what makes these kids tick. The strategies are excellent when carefully followed. While I don’t necessarily use his lingo of “baskets”, I DO follow his recommendations philosophically.

In the past I was a classroom aide to an explosive child diagnosed with ODD for 2 years. Greene’s book was enormously helpful. I recently reread it as I’ve begun working with another child whose outbursts are frequent and uncontrollable. I highly recommend this book.

Can’t let this one go. I MEANT to say, “For two years, I worked as a classroom aide to an explosive child.”

As mentioned in a previous reply, check out Dr. Greene’s work. He poses ODD as a skill deficit (in one of many possible areas) that would entail the teaching of specific skills to the child. It’s a refreshing approach and one that may answer the questions we see in schools so much, such as “How many times are we going to suspend him/her? It doesn’t do anything!”