Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

When children act out persistently so that it causes serious problems at home, in school, or with peers, they may be diagnosed with ODD. For younger children, the treatment with the strongest evidence is behavior therapy training for parents, where a therapist helps the parent learn effective ways to strengthen the parent-child relationship and respond to the child’s behavior. Dr. Edwards provides behavioral parent training online.

If you’re a parent of a toddler or preschooler, you might be feeling stuck in the daily power struggles and lost in the sea of conflicting parenting information about what to do. If you're an expecting or new parent, you might be struggling to manage your own stress, anxiety, or sleep problems. It is not uncommon for me to hear parents say, “I love my child, but it’s hard, because everything’s a fight.” A strategy session may be all you need to recalibrate a starting point and find your footing.

I have experience working in a school- based setting and offered crisis support to children and teens with a history of behavioral problems. Used the nationally recognized Teaching Family Model to assist youth with learning social skills, anger management, goal setting and basic living skills.

I have worked for over a year with adolescents and families with an ODD diagnosis. Behavioral interventions, parent-child interaction therapy, and parenting classes are some of what I provide for my clients.

ODD, oppositional defiant disorder, includes frequent episodes of anger, deliberately irritating or hostile behavior, and a pronounced intolerance for authority. The key is to stop the sequence of events that leads to these behaviors as early as possible.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy is one of the best treatments for Oppositional Defiant Disorder. I coach you to use play therapy skills to strengthen your bond with their child and build your child's motivation to please you. When this strong foundation is established, I coach you in using very strict and consistent discipline skills that were developed especially for children with ODD.

I work with children and adolescents who struggle with ODD. I have a behavioral training background and believe in treating the whole child. That means for those who are diagnosed with ODD it impacts their home, school and the community. I work with all three of those areas, consulting and treating to make sure the child/adolescent receives the best care. ODD is a diagnosis that very easily can burn out families. I provide family/ caregiver support on treatment needs.

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is defined as a pattern of disruptive, and noncompliant behaviors (anger, outbursts, defiance, etc ) usually directed towards an authority figure like parents and teachers. These behaviors can cause significant distress for both the parents and the child. Behavioral parent training has been shown to be effective in helping parents manage difficult behaviors and reduce family stress.

I am trained to help children and parents with this disorder