O.D.D.and my 6 year old son

Question

Is O.D.D. a true diagnosis or is it just an environmental problem? What I mean by that is if in a structured environment can the behavior stop? Recently my son has been diagnosed with O.D.D. he is six years old and on the second day of kindergarten was suspended for three days for fighting with another boy. Now I am a single parent with two other children a7 yr. old daughter and 3 yr. old son. Nick has had behavioral issues for the past two years which have been progessively getting better over time at home I've learned what works with him and what doesn't. He is a very intelligent child who scored in the 95% on his educational test.My concerns is that the school wants to remove him from the classroom and put him in a behavioral class. I feel that with the right behavior plan and certain structure in the regular class that Nick will learn his boundaries properly but the school says this isn't possible to do. I have gone to observe this class that they want him in and I do not want him there. The kids in there are all alot older than Nick and I don't think it's academically appropriate. Now if he complies with the rules at home within reason(meaning he is only 6 and does occassionally act out but that's to be expected with any child) is it really fair to pull him out of mainstream? I feel that the school can implement a behavior plan that will work with him but they aren't willing to Please help any advice would be greatly appreciated they have mentioned due process already. Let me add that he can go several days without even one timeout at school. What do you think?

Scott · Answer

What does O.D.D. stand for?  Just another abbreviation disorder so parents do not have to take responsibility for raising their children?  I think that it must stand for Obnoxious Disrespectful Deviant!   I think it is time that parents stop paying overpaid doctors to diagnos their children. Please, I beg all parents to start raising their children instead of medicating them.

Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. · Answer

Yes, ODD is a valid diagnosis, one of several Disruptive Behavior Disorders. Now, the recommended treatment for such conditions does include environmental modification, including increasing structure and limit-setting, developing a sound behavior management plan (perhaps a contingency incentive system as part of the plan), etc. There's no way I can guage if he requires a substantially  separate classroom - the need for this varies, depending on the severity of the behavior itself and the capacity of the regular education environment to respond to it. One school system might be able to handle a situation within the regular ed framework, while another system may not (just as one school within a system might be able to manage a situation that another school could not, or one classroom within a school might have a capacity that another classroom might not).

Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. · Answer

Yes, ODD is a valid diagnosis, one of several Disruptive Behavior Disorders. Now, the recommended treatment for such conditions does include environmental modification, including increasing structure and limit-setting, developing a sound behavior management plan (perhaps a contingency incentive system as part of the plan), etc. There's no way I can guage if he requires a substantially  separate classroom - the need for this varies, depending on the severity of the behavior itself and the capacity of the regular education environment to respond to it. One school system might be able to handle a situation within the regular ed framework, while another system may not (just as one school within a system might be able to manage a situation that another school could not, or one classroom within a school might have a capacity that another classroom might not).

O.D.D.and my 6 year old son

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