The following material deals more specifically with teenage/tweenage children. If you child is younger we recommend reading our ODD article on children here.
Typical Teenage/Tweenage behavior
Puberty is a time of great hormonal and consequently behavioral change for children. Their bodies are rapidly developing from a child to an adult. Previously, your child depended on you for everything. Now you may not recognize the person living in your home. Your once close relationship may now feel strained and unrecognizable. The following is a short list of behaviors that are common for children entering puberty.
- Moodiness
- Engages in risky behaviors
- More concern for friends than family events
- Increase in use of social media/electronics
- Hiding things
- Bending rules
- Changes in appearance
- Indecisiveness
- Increased demand for independence
While all the above behaviors are common, I’ve included a list of symptoms that outline what problematic behavior looks like.
Symptoms of ODD
- Loses temper with individuals inside and outside the family
- Argumentative/defiant behaviors
- Easily annoyed and often resentful
- Verbal or physical aggression
- Deliberately annoys others
- Blame others for their mistakes or misbehaviors
- Spitefulness or vindictiveness
- Lack of respect for authority figures
- Refuses to comply with requests or demands
- The behaviors impact others either in school, work, home, or other social situations
Symptoms of ODD at first glance can mimic normal adolescent behavior and development. There may seem to be a fine line between normal adolescent behaviors and the ones used to diagnose ODD. The difference is the behaviors associated with ODD are the angry, defiant, and vindictive nature of the behaviors; they are more extreme than typical adolescent angst. The behaviors associated with ODD typically negatively impact others around him or her.
Treatment of ODD typically involves helping the youth restructure thought patterns that contribute to the defiant behaviors and develop appropriate ways to express their feelings. Family involvement in therapy is necessary to provide parents with techniques to respond to the child’s behaviors in a calm and positive manner.
If you are struggling with a child who is regularly oppositional and/or defiant towards adults and other authority figures, call (605) 275-0009 to talk with us about your struggles. We’ll tell you what we can do to help and we can get an appointment set up to help your oppositional child learn how to follow the rules and be more cooperative.