New Syndrome Named To 'Explain' Kids' Bad Behavior

[Guest guest]

It might help if kids were given uplifting books to read, instead of ones

about monsters, witches and full of ugly faces. Must bring out the dark

side. When I worked briefly as a voluntary teacher's aide teaching art at 2

schools I worked with 7 year olds at each school. At the govt school the

kids read books of the above nature and they ran around like hooligans in

the class, screaming and yelling. While the Catholic kids read 'nice' books,

stopped daily for a quick prayer to the Virgin Mary and sat there like

saints doing their work obediently. They weren't allowed to speak during

lessons or butt in when the teacher spoke. When I left the Catholic school

each kid made me a card to say thanks. At the other school nobody said

thanks, not the teacher, the principal or kids. Good example is helpful too.

Personally I think many kids stay up too late nowdays and don't get enough

sleep, which makes them ratty. Too much sugar too. N

 

New Syndrome Named To

'Explain' Kids' Bad Behavior

By Julie Henry and Michael Day

The Telegraph - UK

4-11-4

http://www.rense.com/general51/ecpl.htm

 

" Psychologists and child specialists question the use of such labels and say

that the problem lies with the shortcomings of the adults who care for them,

not the children. "

 

Children who behave badly are no longer described as naughty but suffering

from Oppositional Defiant Disorder - or ODD syndrome.

 

The condition, which was established by scientists in America, is said

mainly to affect children under 10 and result in a number of disruptive

symptoms including defiance, provocative conduct and disobedience.

 

Literature on the subject says that sufferers " argue persistently with

adults " , " actively refuse to comply with adults' requests or rules " and

" often deliberately annoy people " . Other ODD children are said to

" consistently blame others for their own misbehaviour " .

 

Figures for the disorder are not collected because it often arises with

other conditions, such as Attention Deficit Hyper-activity Disorder. A study

for the Office for National Statistics, however, found that about three per

cent of five- to 10-year-olds and almost four per cent of 11- to

15-year-olds have " conduct disorders " . The condition is higher among boys.

 

Psychologists and child specialists, however, question the use of such

labels and say that the problem lies with the shortcomings of the adults who

care for them, not the children. Attributing bad behaviour to a medical

" disorder " allows parents to abdicate responsibility, they claim.

 

Dr Gareth Vincenti, a consultant psychiatrist and the medical director of

the Harrogate Clinic, a mental health hospital, said that the over-use of

medical terms gave many children an excuse to run riot. " You're medicalising

behaviour by saying, 'Oh, you've got a condition', then straightaway it is

not the child's fault or the parents' fault, " he said.

 

" Failing schools very often have failing discipline policies. Rather than

blame the lack of discipline, teachers and governors will blame these

medical conditions. "

 

Another child psychologist at a London teaching hospital, said: " ODD is

being used to describe some children who not so long ago would have been

called very naughty. "

 

Jerry Bartlett, the assistant general secretary of the National Association

of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said that such labels did little

to help teachers control unruly pupils. " Labels such as ODD can be an

attempt to excuse anti-social behaviour by giving it a pseudo-medical

status, " he said. " What cannot be escaped is that teachers are increasingly

experiencing stress-related illness and leaving the profession because of

incessant challenging behaviour. "

 

ODD was first identified by the American Psychiatric Association in the

1980s but its appearance as a diagnosis has increased substantially

recently. In the US it is estimated that about six per cent of children have

the disorder.

 

The condition has been blamed in a number of publicised cases of badly

behaved children. Ben Griffiths, from Wrexham, who was banned from going

near his local leisure centre when he was 11, was diagnosed with both ODD

and ADHD.

 

Another ODD sufferer Christopher Clarke, from Coventry, was excluded from

three primary schools by the age of 10 because he became aggressive when

disciplined and destroyed toys and vandalised property when he did not get

his own way.

 

ODD is one of about 300 classified mental disorders - most identified in the

US - that doctors and psychologists use to explain bad behaviour. Some of

these " conduct disorders " are considered to be treatable with drugs such as

Ritalin.

 

Michele Elliott, the director of the child welfare charity Kidscape, said:

" Other parents are getting fed up with sending their well-behaved children

to school only for them to have their lessons disrupted by children who are

not properly disciplined.

 

" I do not believe that we should be excusing bad behaviour with medical

terms. What we need is a situation where children face consequences for

their actions and good parenting skills. "

 

The Office for National Statistics study, published earlier this year, found

that children from the poorest backgrounds were three times more likely to

have conduct disorders than those whose parents were in professional

occupations, and that children of lone parents were twice as likely to

suffer from poor mental health as those living with couples.

 

The Government is to spend more than £300 million on children and

adolescents with mental health problems.

 

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004.

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