My DS(6) Year 2 teacher has suggested he may be ODD :-(

[PrinceCorum]

My DS6 has had a 'home school' book for maybe 6 months now and he can have a great week in which he gets great comments from teachers but then he can have a week like this one in which he gets comments about him being defiant, saying "no" to teachers and not wanting to get on with work. He doesnt swear at them or be aggressive.
He can certainly be a strong-willed child and can be prone to temper outbursts at home. We're currently trying technqiues like descriptive praise, reward charts, not rewarding temper with attention, etc. But just like at school, there can also be periods when he is as good as gold.

I was rather taken aback when his school teacher asked us to take DS to see the GP, and started to talk about oppostional defiant disorder. I'm pondering what she feels can be achieved by going down this route and am concerned that this may reflect a lack of techniques to deal with defiant behaviour on the teacher's part rather than a genine concern that there is a pschological issue. Could he be ODD even though he can have absoluetlty fine weeks with no bad behaviour?

I'm going to meet with the teacher soon - what's a good way to handle this? Can't help feeling that society seeks to label any bad behaviour and medicalise it these days. Does that really help?

If the teacher thinks he has ODD but I don't want to see him labelled and medicalised in this way, how to resolve?

If they refer you to Ed Psyc etc, they will then work to find strategies to turn this behaviour around.

Only if strategies do not work will they go on to try to get a diagnosis.

I'm assuming too that with DS being in Year 2 that they have seen this behaviour for a while?

I'd want to know what they've tried so far and how it has worked.

I would not want to take DS to the GP as it would be terrible for him to think that you and school think there's something "wrong" just because he's quite happy to say "NO" to them.

I would also ask if when he is saying No - if it is because they are asking him rather than telling him to do things? My DS's teacher was surprised how often she was asking rather than telling and when she changed her style, DS was a lot easier to manage! She also made sure that if she gave DS a choice, that he was aware of what the right choice to make would be.

Surely, this is for the school to get an Educational Psychologist in if they are so concerned about him. Personally, I'd tell the teacher that you think that the school should be intervening rather than your GP. If they do not wish to pay for the services of an EP then I would take that as them not really seeing the problem as that significant.

Migsy1 - hmm, I feel rather out of my depth here - do you think this could be the (church) school being tight-fisted in not wanting to employ the services of an Educational Psychologist? I'd never thought of that... I suppose different schools may vary in their typical practice.

What do you mean medicalise? If he does have ODD (which would probably take you at least a year to diagnose, with many visits to get it) they won't offer him drugs. They won't do anything besides give him a diagnosis.

Which the school and you can use to research how to help him better.

If he does have ODD I wouldn't have thought that an Ed Psych would be able to dx, they can just put strategies in place that will help your DS in school.

Well he probably has a label now anyway - that of being "naughty", "rude" or "defiant" take your pick. For my boys I prefer the "AS" label rather than any of the former as it has helped get them the support they need.

It may be a rubbish teacher - how was he in the previous year for instance - but on the other hand she may be right there is something else going on.

I haven't come across any child diagnosed "ODD" (don't think it is used much) but high functioning autism or PDA may cause similarly challenging behaviour and might be worth investigating. Getting an EP into school is probably a good strategy but they can not diagnose only make suggestions for approaches at school that might help. For diagnosis the best strategy is to go via your GP and ask for a referral to CAMHS or Community Paediatrician. Are there any other issues you are aware of e.g. how are his social skills, are there any sensory issues, do you have the challenging behaviour when there is a change of routine. Even if you don't want to rush into diagnosis no keeping a diary to monitor when the behaviour occurs might be worthwhile to identify the triggers.

I have a y2 child with an ODD diagnosis which was given to him with a diagnosis of adhd a couple of years ago. Without a diagnosis my ds would have not had as much help and support. ds has very recently diagnosed autistic spectrum disorder which probably is the cause of the ODD symptoms,.

Teachers suggest the GP route as it's quicker. There is currently an 18 month waiting list for the EP in my area due to national cutbacks. A GP can refer to the Children's Development Centre.