[thomas45]

My friend's daughter has been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder. However I really question whether this is an actual disorder or whether its another "bag" term used by psychiatrists to justify medicating children and teenagers. This particular teen falls into the criteria, but her target "oppositional person" is her mother, and she can turn the behavior on and off as required. This says to me that this is not a disorder, but a problem between mother and daughter which needs to be resolved by constructive talk and not by the drugs the girl's doctor has placed her on. Does anyone have experience of this "disorder"?

[QueenAngie]

Welcome to the board!

One of my nephews had this diagnosis as a young child and has grown into a productive adult.
Yes, it is a diagnosis.
Teenagers by and large are a difficult stage for both the child and the parent.

Obviously, this teen has more issues than the average teenager,
and mental health diagnosises as well.

I sense that you just want to say she is being a 'bad kid' towards
her mother and the correct punishment or parenting would 'fix it.'

Not certain how close you are to the situation, are you living in the family home?
Or just a visitor?


If the child had appendicitis, would you just tell the child to 'get over it and act right towards your mother?' I would hope not. The child would go to the doctor and have surgery ASAP.


Perhaps, if it is acceptable to both child and mother, you could attend a session,
so that you could more fully understand what is going on with the child's health issues.

It is much easier being on the outside as to offer advise
on what to do or how to do it properly to fix the issues.
Does not mean this advise would be on target or well received
by the daugher and mother.

Wishing you all the best.

[Samual]

It doesn't even exist outside the UK or USA, same as ADHD, ADD and Dyslexia.

[jkl123]

It is a real condition. It is a 'misfiring' in the brain somewhere. I don't want to get into the medical jargon here, but having studied and researched about it for the last 10 years, I can tell you it is real (my oldest has been diagnosed since he was 4). That being said, most DRs will tell you there is no medicine to cure it - only behavior management - so most do not use ODD as a justification to medicate a child.