Oppositional Child Clinic

What is Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)?

Oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD, is a fairly common disorder in young children, especially boys. It is characterized by a persistent pattern of defiant, hostile, and disobedient conduct that goes beyond the negative behaviors that are common in young children. In the US, approximately 5 to 8% of children have ODD. In most cases, the disorder appears between 4 and 8, often when the child is in kindergarten or first grade.

Many ODD children...

• Have a "short fuse"
• Argue a lot
• Seem to argue for argument's sake
• Argue to win, even when it is clear that parents (or teachers) have decided on a course of action
• Challenge requests, instructions, and rules
• Act as if they were deaf, refusing to obey by ignoring what has just been said
• Have difficulty getting back to a normal mood when they are angry
• Seem to take some pleasure in annoying or upsetting family and friends deliberately
• Have difficulty with transitions (e.g. stopping one activity to do another)
• Have difficulty laughing at their own expense, but are quick to laugh at someone else's
• Seem to take pleasure in hurting other people's feelings, especially in the family
• Show little respect for their loved ones
• Use foul language when talking to their loved ones, especially when they are upset
• Destroy things or hurt themselves when they are angry

How Can the Oppositional Child Clinic Help?

The clinic offers treatments that have been shown through research to be effective for ODD. These treatments include parent training and school consultation.

Parent Training is used to teach parents how to structure the home environment in a way that helps their child function better. Once learned, parents can use their skills on a continuing basis to help their child.

While it is not possible to guarantee complete success in every instance, scientific study has shown that these techniques can be particularly useful in reducing these negative behaviors in children.

The clinic's mission is three-fold:

1. to offer state-of-the-art interventions for families from the Greater Lafayette community; 
2. to train qualified graduate students to help people use these proven techniques; and,
3. to generate better understanding of the disorder itself and its treatment to continue helping families.

Staff: The Oppositional Child Clinic is directed by Jean Dumas, Ph.D., a full Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University and an expert on ODD. The clinicians who staff the clinic are trainees enrolled in the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at Purdue who are supervised by Dr. Dumas.

How to Contact the Oppositional Child Clinic?

If you are interested in receiving services at the Oppositional Child Clinic or in learning more about what is offered, please call (765) 494-6996 and specify that you are calling about ODD services. You will be sent an information and screening packet to complete. When we receive your completed screening packet, we will determine whether your child's problems can best be served by the Oppositional Child Clinic. If so, we will call you to schedule your first appointment. If not, we will provide another appropriate referral for you.