Oppositional Defiance Disorder

I dont have any advice for you but if you get any can you please send them my way. I dont know the steps to take to help my son. He can be such a sweet boy but only for ashort time. All day every day hes so defiant. Please tell me the steps.

I do not have a child with the diagnosis you are talking about. However we do see children like that at our office. Seek out mental health treatment, either through your school district or through your county. Also talk to the school and set up a behavior plan so that your child can recognize when she/he needs to take a break or has to stop a certain type of behavior.

Per my aunt who has a teenager with this disorder:

Yes. We give him supplements of DHA by Nordic Naturals for children...and we have cut out all junk food. Period. This includes sodas. This is the best course of action...as pharma. can lead to alifelong need for it, which doesn't allow complete control of one's life. I would suggest starting fish oils right away and cutting out all junk food and I mean all junk food...then try it with pharma. provided by a pediatric psychiatrist who specializes in supporting both natural supplements, dietary changes, and a prescription drug if needed. We started with this and now our child doesn't need the prescription portion... Good luck.

Wouldn't call this an answer but more like a call for help myself. My sister has a 3 year old (soon 4) that has just been diagnosed with ODD. They think it is mixed with Bi-Polar but not ADHD like in the begining. He can sit and watch movies and play games, ect, that most kids with ADHD can't do for extended periods of time. His behavior is quite violent. He is hurting/abusing animals, has sent at least 4-5 kids to the ER, been kicked out of 4 daycare centers, and is extreamly abusive with his mother. Last week with the counselor there to see them, he picked up a kitchen chair and threw it across the room at his mom. This isn't all. And remember he's only 3. They have him started on a med to help with his sleeping. e is getting awake some nights screaming and with night terrors. We already know that if she's having a hard time controlling him now, it will be impossible at 6-7 let alone 15-16. If anyone has any suggestions, ideas, honest advice, places to look for info, people to look up ect, please let me know. If you have received any info that you think may be helpful please let me know. I saw that it has been awhile since this was posted by you, but hoping your still able to help. Thanks for you time, a sister and aunt in need in PA.

HI S.,
i see your post was way back in january, but wondered if you had any replies. We have issues with our daughter that seem to be a mix of oppositional defiance and sensory defensive challenges.
CT

That sounds like the latest thing the medical profession has come up with, because thay don't know what can explain the situation.
From the discription,Oppositianal Defiance Disorder, it could be caused by a need for Vitamin B-12. You might try Methylcobalamin Lozenges. The Vitamin Shoppe catalog has them on page of their newest issue. The order number is VS- 1681 FOR 60 lozenges, at $8,99, or VS-1730 for 120 lozenges at $15.89.
You should see improvement in temperment in a very short time;
anywhere from minutes to a few days.

Their address is:
The Vitamin Shoppe
P.O. Box 1041
North Bergen, NJ 07047

I tried to look it up on the web, but it was not available there.
D. N.

Hi S.,
My son was diagnosed with ODD and ADHD when he was 4. He was treated with meds for the ADHD but I do not recall the docs ever paying much attention to the ODD part of it. That was 13 years ago though, maybe they didn't know enough then. When he was 10 his diagnosis was changed to Bi-polar disorder. Since then he we have tried several meds and have been through the ringer. He is stable now, although very regressed for his age. My best advise to you is to make sure your child is diagnosed correctly before trying any meds. If this means getting more opinions (professional ones) than that is the first step that should be taken. Education is key and family history of any type of mental illness or instability is important for you to relay to your doctor's.

Good Luck,
C.

S. my heart goes out to you. How old is your son? The problem with these disorders is they are lists of behaviors and their diagnosis is very subjective; they do not generally address the underlying causes. My son has sensory integration issues and I can tell you that children with irregularities in sensory procesing can exhibit a whole host of symptoms and perplexing behaviors, especially in settings that overwhelm them, and receive assorted diagnoses from ADD to OCD to autism, as well as the kind of diagnosis your son received. We have received immeassurable help from a program called Handle (http://www.handle.org). They conduct an assessment and develop an individualized program of simple activities that address the underlying systems that are weak or irregular, for whatever reason. These include auditory, visual tacking, vestibular, proprioceptive, and inter-hemispheric integration. Handle has been amazing, even my husband who was skeptical now believes in it completely because he sees what a world of difference it has made for our son--and for us! I'm sure you will pursue every avenue that your instinct tells you to and that you will get lots of great suggestions here.
If your son seems very sensitive or under-sensitive, covers his ears, or speaks loudly, hates transitions, hates tags in shirts, gets upset at sudden unexpected noises, smells, or touch, tunes out, I would investigate his sensory processing. (See book The Out of Sync Child) The great news is, if he has issues here they are easily addressed and the wonderful brain is far more plastic than once thought. Good luck to you and your son!

Hi, S.. My daughter (12) has been diagnosed with ODD as well as reactive attachment disorder (RAD). We are working with a therapist in Pleasant Hill who is very good.

We just recently returned to East Contra Costa County after having lived in LA for 2 years. I could find no help for my daughter there, so I'm returning back here for support.

The therapist recommended joining a Tough Love parenting class, too. The Tough Love website is not updated-the closest operating meeting is in Fremont on Thursday nights. However, the Tough Love founder's book is listed there, and it might provide to be a useful resource.

Thanks to everyone for the nutrition/supplement information.

S., My 16 yo son was originally thought to be ODD at the age of 9 yo. We tried him on various drugs when nothing else seemed to work. Finally they changed his diagnose to Aspergers Syndrom. This is a high functioning autism. He is very intellegent but has major problems in behavior and social arenas. The medicines were not working and in some cases were actually making him worse on the behavior side. I made the decision to allow his school to add a code to his IBP for emotional disturbance and this opened up therapy through Sacramento County Mental Health. Though a medicine review separate from my regular doctor, therapy, and being placed in a special school since 8th grade, he has made extraordinary progess. He is now at the point that he can start back to a regular school. Many of the kids he goes to school with now have similar diagnoses and what works for one does not always work for another. These kids are all individuals and you will have to try many differant avenues to find out what works for your child. Best wishes and keep fighting for your child. Do not ever let anyone try to make you accept something for your child (whether medicine, therapy, or school placement) if you are not comfortable with it. You will find that you will have to become your own child's advocate.

Hi there,

My son went to Stanford Med Center for review about 6 years ago. They diagnosed him as O.D.D. - and told me that there was really nothing to help him... just possibly therapy. I KNEW that they were wrong... Depression runs in my family.

So I started over again and finally my insurance found another doctor in San Jose who we met with - he immediately told me that my son was NOT O.D.D. and that the diagnosis was wrong. He diagnosed him as Bi-Polar and with the proper medicines life has been somewhat easier. Of course now that he is 15 and going thru hormones - ALL BETS ARE OFF!!!! What I mean is, the medicines that had worked then, do not work now due to his being a teenager. But that is a totally different matter.

Please get a second opinion. Please feel free to contact me if you want to talk. ###-###-####. I think this is going to be tough on you and him.... my heart goes out to you.

C.

About me - I am an Independent Mary Kay Beauty Consultant with a great husband and two kids, ages 15 and 11!

Hi, I agree that you could check out nutrition changes to see if this would help; it surely wouldn't hurt. My husband's mom tells me of his dramatic behavior change when she took him off refined sugar when he was a kid. His dr. wanted to put him on meds to control his behavior, & she chose to try this first, & it worked so he didn't need to try the meds.

Another avenue that would be worth investigating is homeopathic remedies & flower essences. For the best results, I'd suggest contacting a registered homeopath, S. Volpi Gelber or Laura Shlien in Davis, CA are both good, by accounts I've heard. Flower essences can be looked up either at your natural foods store or by going online at www.flowersociety.org or googling flower essences. They are helpful with emotional disturbances, and even make a special remedy just for kids called "kinder garden".

These medicines are not drugs, do not cause dependency & are a safe way to try treating your son's issues that hopefully will help him to blossom instead of be boxed in, labeled & drugged. Not to say proper mental health treatment WILL do all these things. But these medicines can also be safely used, along with "conventional" mental health treatment. You be the judge.

Hope this helps!

Hi S., I have a good friend whose son was diagnosed with this. She has eliminated processed sugars in his diet and started using fish oil tablets. She has seen so much improvement in her son. There seems to be more information supporting this all the time. I have a newsletter with an article by Dr. John Gray regarding kids with behavioral issues and nutrition. If you'd like me to send a copy to you let me know. People and children are so different in how they can react to chemicals (both medical and pharmaceutical) so this may or may not work for you and your son but sure seems like a good thing to try. All the best to you as this must be such a difficult time for you.