JOURNAL Behavioral or mental issue

Journal Entry: Pediatric Treatment of Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
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Journal Entry: Pediatric Treatment of Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
This week entails coming up with a journal entry of my reflection dealing with a behavioral issue for a pediatric patient. In my practicum, I dealt with a patient with the Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The behavioral disorder is mainly associated with infants directed at parents, as well as other authority figures in the life of the child (Cavanagh, Quinn, Duncan, Graham, & Balbuena, 2017). Irritable or angry moods mainly characterize ODD. The infant was diagnosed with ODD mainly because, as the parents explained, she did things purposely to cause conflicts in kindergarten. The behavior was evident at the hospital. Using DSM-V criteria, we determined that the child had ODD as she had an angry and irritable mood, including easily losing temper, being resentful and angry, and easily annoyed by the parents and the medical practitioners (Burke, Loeber, & Birmaher, 2002). Besides, she had argumentative and defiant behavior such as deliberately annoying others. As such, based on the symptoms, she was diagnosed with moderate ODD. The parents were very helpful in helping us diagnose the child. Even though they did not know of the condition, we made sure that we explained in details about the condition.
My “aha” moment was when learned more about the condition. ODD co-occurs with other behavioral disorders, including depression, ADHD, and anxiety.

Luckily upon further scrutiny, none of these co-occurred with the ODD. One of the causes is genetics, which is due to the neurobiological differences in the functionality of the brain. Second, the environment can stimulate the behavior, especially when there is lack of supervision, neglect, harsh discipline, or abuse. The therapist recommended parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) where parents are coached to interact with the child effectively. The parents wore an “ear bug” audio device and the therapist guided them through on how to effectively interact with the child to induce a positive behavior (Chaffin et al., 2004). They meet the therapist twice weekly, and so far, the therapy has been effective since the child is showing signs of positive behaviors, such as obedience.

References
Burke, J. D., Loeber, R., & Birmaher, B. (2002). Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder: a review of the past 10 years, part II. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(11), 1275-1293.
Cavanagh, M., Quinn, D., Duncan, D., Graham, T., & Balbuena, L. (2017). Oppositional defiant disorder is better conceptualized as a disorder of emotional regulation. Journal of attention disorders, 21(5), 381-389.
Chaffin, M., Silovsky, J. F., Funderburk, B., Valle, L. A., Brestan, E. V., Balachova, T., … & Bonner, B. L. (2004). Parent-child interaction therapy with physically abusive parents: efficacy for reducing future abuse reports. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 72(3), 500.