Oppositional

Defiant Disorder
(ODD)

Benchmark Family Services

Tiffany Thompson, MSW, CSW
Home Compliance Specialist
• ODD is a diagnosis in which a child
presents with a fluctuating pattern of
defiance, anger, irritability, or
opinionated conduct, and
maliciousness toward adults in power
positions. (webmd.com, 2018)
(The Family & Youth Institute, 2016)
 Fostering Appropriate Behavior:
Issues, Challenges, and Strategies for
Foster Families Raising Children with
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
By Nurit Yastrow
A thesis submitted to the Miami University Honors
Program in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for University Honors with Distinction
Children in foster care have a variety of special
needs, whether or not they have a disability. It is
the duty of the foster care system and foster
parents to meet those needs. Oppositional
Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a childhood disruptive
behavioral disorder characterized by
disobedience, acting-out, and aggression. When
a child has ODD, the entire family is affected by
the disorder's negative influence on individuals,
relationships, and family functioning (Yastrow,
2008)
These negative influences extend to
relationships among family members without
ODD. ODD is relatively common in children in
foster care with both biological and
environmental correlates, yet few foster parents
are trained to work with ODD. The interactions
of foster families are affected by the behavior of
a child with ODD in many of the same ways as
those of biological families. Due to the negative
impact of the disorder on family functioning,
foster families dealing with oppositional and
defiant behavior may not be able to meet the
needs of their foster children, and thus the
potential success of the foster care placement is
threatened (Yastrow, 2008).
Interventions must be adapted to the unique situation of
foster family care and clinicians, teachers, and foster
parents must build collaborative
partnerships in order to ensure consistency across
environments. This project considers these issues and
challenges from several perspectives including
psychology, education, and social work and suggests
strategies for professionals and families. Foster parent
involvement in intervention, open communication, and
early social service support for
biological and foster families are considered as possible
approaches to these adaptations (Yastrow, 2008).
One advantage of diagnosing psychological
disorders is that a classification system
provides information about the specific
disorders. The diagnostic label “ODD” helps
psychologists, educators, social workers,
and parents collect information about
children who experience this type of
behavior problem.
Behavioral problems associated with ODD, CD, aggression, and
delinquency involve a failure of the child to behave in a way
that is expected by authority figures, in line with societal norms,
or respectful of other people. These types of behaviors can
range from oppositionality and noncompliance to violations of
societal norms to violations of the rights of others (Frick, 1998).
Children with ODD generally have conflicts with authority
figures due to their defiant, noncompliant behavior, but do not
behave in ways that inflict serious physical or emotional harm
on others (Yastrow, 2008).
Effective and appropriate intervention is essential for children
with ODD if they hope to overcome their behavioral difficulties
and participate fully in their families, communities, and society.
However, at best, only ten to thirty percent of children with
behavior problems receive appropriate mental health services
(Markward and Bride, 2001). This can be due to several reasons
including misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment
implementation. There are many classes of intervention for
behavioral disorders including ODD, and each has its own
advantages and disadvantages. The most important element of
an intervention is its potential for individualization. Every child is
different, and therefore every case of ODD is different and in
need of individual attention (Yastrow, 2008).
A Different Approach: “Fail-Proof Consequences” 
In our work with ODD kids and their parents, we use
something called “Fail-Proof Consequences.” These are
consequences that are effective with oppositional defiant kids
because full control over the consequence rests with you, the
parent. Much of our work involves showing parents exactly
how to use this type of consequence (Kim Abraham, LMSW &
Marney Studaker-Cordner, LMSW)
If your child has any control over the potential consequence at all, it’s not fail-
proof. For example, if you tell your child he can’t use the internet, do you have
complete control over that? Not really. Your child can always surf the web while
you’re asleep or at work or even in the same room. ODD kids are brave and bold
and think nothing of flaunting your consequence in your face, something a
typical kid isn’t likely to do. Now, if you suspend the internet service for a few
days or weeks, do you have complete control over that? Yes. You pay the bill and
your child can’t get it turned back on without your permission. It may mean you
can’t use the internet at home, but you still have ultimate control over that
consequence. You may decide to get Wi-Fi access through your phone so your
own life isn’t disrupted. Understand that if it’s not a consequence you can live
through, it’s not fail-proof. Your child may try to get around the consequence by
going online at a friend’s house or somewhere else, but your consequence—that
he isn’t allowed to use the internet at home—stands firm (
Kim Abraham, LMSW & Marney Studaker-Cordner, LMSW)
The Strengths of an ODD Child
Each of us has a journey in this life—to decide who we are
and what we want to be. Oppositional Defiant kids have
existed since the beginning of time–they’re our rebels. They
bring about changes in society because they simply will not
accept the status quo. We need our rebels. They make us
think—about who we are, ourselves—and they offer us
many, many opportunities for our own personal growth.
They possess strengths like determination, a strong will and
the courage to be different. Many of our entertainers,
inventors and successful citizens were oppositional growing
up. Steve Jobs, creator of what would eventually become
Apple and James Lehman, creator of The Total
Transformation, were both ODD and went on to impact the
lives of others. If everyone was the same—what a boring
world this would be ( Kim Abraham, LMSW & Marney
Studaker-Cordner, LMSW).
.