What is Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)?
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a condition that arises when a child displays a persistent pattern of angry, irritable moods, refusal to complete requests from adults, argumentativeness, and vindictiveness. ODD can develop through interactions between children and parents, where negative behaviors may be unintentionally reinforced, highlighting the importance of supportive and consistent parenting strategies.
How can a child learn Oppositional/Defiant behaviors?
Minimal Benefits of Compliance: Parents often expect their child to do what is asked of them, and therefore there are no rewards or attention for being compliant with parents requests to complete tasks. As a result, their child sees minimal benefits of simply complying with their parents' requests.
Most effective way to get attention: Children want their parents to pay attention to them. They can learn that engaging in negative and oppositional behavior is more effective at getting their parents attention than compliance, even if the attention they receive is largely negative.
Escaping Non-preferred Tasks/Activities: When a child displays defiant behavior and the parent responds by withdrawing demands to avoid conflict, the child learns that defiance is an effective strategy for escaping unwanted tasks. For example, if a child refuses to do chores and the parent eventually does them instead to avoid a fight, the child is reinforced to use defiance in the future.
Parents modeling verbally aggressive behaviors. Parents understandably get frustrated with their children when they struggle to complete tasks, and may yell or express anger toward their children leading the child to respond similarly back to the parent.
Parents Inconsistent Discipline: If parents are inconsistent with rules and consequences, a child might learn that defiance and testing limits are effective ways to get what they want. For example, if a parent sometimes gives in to tantrums and other times punishes them, the child may become more oppositional, trying to see which behavior will yield the desired outcome.
Parent Management Training (PMT) is an evidence-based program offered by Collin Testing and Psychological Services where the clinician works with the parents to correct behaviors consistent with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD).
How does Parent Management Training (PMT) correct Oppositional Defiant Behaviors?
Parents will set-up a token economy system. A token economy is a system where the parents reward their child with tokens for compliant behaviors. The child can cash in their tokens for desirable items. This way the child has a direct benefit for complying with parents requests.
Parents learn to increase quality time with their child. By increasing quality time with their child, the child will feel less inclined to act out in order to get their attention.
Parents will learn to engage in consistent discipline. Parents will learn to engage in consistent discipline, which over time should reduce the child’s likelihood of testing boundaries.
Parents will learn strategies to regulate their own emotions. By parents learning to regulate their own emotions, they will not be modeling aggressive behaviors for their child.
While Collin Testing offers clinician guided Parent Management Training (PMT) sessions, Parents interested in implementing these strategies on their own without the assistance of a clinician can purchase Your Defiant Child: Eight Steps to Better Behavior by Russell A. Barkley and Christine M. Benton.
ADHD, Inattentive Type: Predominantly inattentive symptoms. Struggles with inattention, but does not struggle with hyperactivity and impulsivity.
ADHD, Hyperactive/Impulsive Type: Predominantly hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. Does not struggle with inattention, but struggles with hyperactivity/impulsivity.
ADHD, Combined Type: A mix of both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. Struggles with both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity.
If you or someone you know is struggling with ADHD, consider seeking professional assessment and support. Speaking from personal experience, the treatments for ADHD can be a complete game changer, and your journey should start with a psychological evaluation. Contact us today to learn more about our testing and support services.