Today we dodged a huge legal bullet. A few weeks ago, my son was arrested for third degree aggravated assault (against a police officer) and resisting arrest – all because he refused to leave my home after he had another one of his emotional rants towards me. I had called the police that night to […]
I rode on a horse for the first time in my life the other day. I wanted to do it for several reasons – I’ve never really been around animals much, I wanted to do something new and different, and I wanted to understand the connection between the human spirit and that of a horse’s. […]
In my Tips For Parenting Oppositional Defiant Disorder – part 2, I talked about the skills (awareness, patience) critical to managing and surviving extremely trying interactions with someone who is deeply & firmly oppositional. For anyone who is raising a child diagnosed with ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) or any severe behavioral issue, you know the […]
Not everyone has the will power to handle people who are obstinate and rigid. My son’s father is one of them. Interestingly, he too is an incredibly rigid person. For the last nearly three years, he has relinquished all of his parental responsibilities and rights for a number of reasons; one of which is the […]
Over my nearly 17 years of living with and managing my son’s mental and emotional health issues, I have learned many things – especially things that do not work. (I wish there were nearly as many things that did work because life would’ve been so much easier to deal with.) One of the things that […]
If your child has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder or any condition that impacts his/her school performance, it is very important to know what your options & rights are with regard to special education. There are 14 different categories of disability under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). Most mental health related disorders […]
I never really seriously considered medication for my son. He was diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) when he was 5 years old. At the same time, the doctor observed defiant behaviors but did not diagnose ODD (oppositional defiant disorder). That early on and throughout the following years, many doctors recommended medication but I […]
Awareness. Patience. My journey of raising a son with ODD has taught me so many things. Just about all of the lessons I have learned have been after the fact but that’s OK; better late than never. The first lesson is learning how to be aware. By that, I mean not only gaining knowledge of […]
Parents play a necessary and critical role in treatment for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Most successful treatment plans involve family-based interventions such as parent training programs along with training for the child. Below are some effective programs and examples that my son & I have used over the years, some as recently as this week! […]
There’s a lot of things I probably could have done differently or better when it comes to raising my son, who has oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), early on. It has been almost 12 years since his ADHD diagnosis. I don’t say this out of regret but rather from a place of reflection, curiosity and an […]
You're Not A Bad Parent 