- Associated Diagnoses
- Causes
- Diagnosis
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Parent Child Interaction Therapy
- Signs and Symptoms
- Treatment
ODD is treatable, usually with behavioral therapy or a combination of behavioral intervention and medication.
Psychotherapeutic:
- A popular evidence-based treatment is a type of behavior therapy called parent management training. The parent(s) and child are seen and coached together in real time, with the therapist present, to practice a series of skills. Often, the therapist may coach the parent during interactions, sometimes by whispering into their ear or even communicating from a viewing room via an in-ear receiver. Typically, this is a two-phase treatment with the first phase devoted to increasing positive parent-child interactions, and the second focused on specific limit-setting and discipline skills.
- Parent-child Interaction Therapy is another evidence-based behavior therapy that has been gaining popularity for the treatment of ODD.
- Many equine-assisted therapies have been shown to effectively create challenging situations for parents and children in real time, with a therapist present. The therapist can then provide coaching to the parents as they practice skills for managing their child’s frustration, defiance, and reactivity.
Treatment for ODD typically requires a great deal of coordination between the authority figures in a child’s life, including the parents, teachers and other caregivers, such as grandparents, coaches, or daycare providers. It may also require parents to be very mindful and thoughtful in their parenting. Parents may need to study techniques and interventions to learn how to effectively manage a child’s disorder with a minimum of painful outbursts—by both parent and child!
Medication:
- Medicines are not specifically indicated for ODD.
- Many children with ODD have co-occurring conditions such as ADHD, they may be on medications for those other disorders.
- Sometimes, medicine could make the difference between a child with ODD being able to participate in the therapy and not.
- Recent studies of stimulants (medications indicated for the treatment of ADHD) have demonstrated that optimized doses of these agents may reduce aggressive dyscontrol in children, even in the absence of a diagnosis of ADHD.
- Some patients are so troubled by their own aggression and difficulties managing their painfully low frustration tolerance, that a child psychiatrist or other medical doctor may recommend medication along with behavioral therapy to help the child or adolescent control those responses.
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