Does your child argue a lot – with you or teachers?  Does he or she seem to anger easily?  Is this behaviour worrying you?

It could be quite normal – just a phase your child is going through. On the other hand they may have oppositional defiant disorder, also known as ODD.

There are five signs which can point to ODD, according to Dr Martha Burns.  In a conversation on the Learning Capacity Podcast, she described the signs and discussed how to help a child who has this disorder.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or ODD, can be traumatic to deal with. 

A child's oppositional or defiant behaviour needs to be consistent and obvious for about 6 months, before it's classified as ODD. This can seem like a long time before parents make decisions to do something about it. 

Dr Shan Ong is a developmental paediatrician with deep experience in this field.

I spoke to him on the Learning Capacity podcast, and asked about ODD. What does it mean for parents to take the first steps in handling the situation? And what can parents expect?  Dr Ong  explained that for parents it's a mixture of emotions from relief to denial.  They have to come to terms with the long road ahead. 

We also talked about the role of the child's school. How the school fits in with strategies at home. And  the relationship with a medical professional. 

I started by asking Dr Ong to clarify what defiant behaviours might look like.

Listen to the discussion: