Does Your Child Disobey A Lot? It Hints At Disruptive Behavior Disorder!

Children disobey their parents often and after they have been correct they usually do not repeat their mistakes. But that’s not the case with disruptive behavior disorder. In this a child has problematic behavior.

Not only children, even some adults can develop disruptive behavior disorder. But it is most commonly seen in young children. They have a tendency to not listen to their authority figures and do whatever that satisfies their ego.

Children with disruptive behavior disorder often look for immediate gratification of their wants and to achieve that they often ignore what their parents are saying and do whatever they please.

Shall we dig deep into this disorder of defiance?

What Is Disruptive Behavior Disorder?

Disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) is a mental health condition, classified as a behavioral disorder, where the lives of the child and parents are affected heavily. The behavior of the child who has disruptive behavior disorder is highly uncooperative and extremely defiant in nature.

These children tend to not listen to anyone and act on their own will. On being corrected by the authority figure they often behave like either they haven’t heard anything or become extremely hostile towards them.

Children with destructive behavior disorder simply disobey their elders. They show hostility, aggression and often violate societal norms and other’s rights. They are easily irritated by others when anyone tries to put them at their place.

Now that you know what disruptive behavior disorder looks like, let’s briefly look at the different types of disruptive behavior disorder:

1. Disruptive behavior disorder not otherwise specified (DED NOS)
2. Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
3. Conduct disorder (CD)

These three types are differentiated by the intensity and intentionality of disobedience in your child’s behaviour. Children with conduct disorder other than the usual symptoms also have physical aggression and physically inappropriate behavior.

Symptoms Of Disruptive Behavior Disorder

There are various symptoms of disruptive behavior disorder that each parent looks for in their children. Here’s a list of symptoms your child may have if they have developed a disruptive behavior disorder:

• No cooperation whatsoever
• Does not follow any rules
• Intentionally irritates others
• Is easily annoyed by others
• Put the blame on others for their own mistakes
• Argue a lot, even on small, irrelevant things
• Vindictive in nature
• Has anger issues
• Does Not respect others
• Show aggression to other people, even animals
• Becomes a bully
• Lie about things a lot
• Steal things without any guilt
• Purposely destroys property in school/home
• Tendency to elope from your house
• Displays physical inappropriate behavior

It’s not like your child will have all these symptoms. Even a couple of above listed symptoms are enough for your child to be diagnosed with a disruptive behavior disorder.

Also read: Aggression In Children: Strategies On How To Stop Aggressive Behavior In Toddlers

Cause Of Disruptive Behavior Disorder

The exact cause of a disruptive behavior disorder is unknown but experts believe that there are some factors that can foster disruptive behavior disorder in your child. Here’s a list of affective factors:

Parent/caregiver of a child with disruptive behavior disorder is suffering from a mental health disorder like;

• Substance abuse
• Schizophrenia
• Antisocial personality disorder
• Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Mood related disorders

Some other factors for a child to develop a disruptive behavior disorder can be:

• Neglected by parents as an infant
• Separated from parents in the early years
• Abused (physically, mentally or emotionally)
• Received insufficient care and love
• Suffered a neurological damage
• Low birth weight (in rare cases)
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

These are some of the factors that can cause someone to develop disruptive behaviour disorder.

Fortunately, treatment for disruptive behavior disorder is available. Let’s have a look at that…

Treatment For Disruptive Behavior Disorder

Therapy is suggested to be the best option for children who suffer from disruptive behavior disorder. You will need professional help for your child initially. Once the child learns some behavioral techniques, you can administer them at home as well.

But first, visit a mental health specialist so that they can initiate the treatment correctly.

There are a few things that are very, very important and need to be taken care of during the treatment process are:

• Children need to be trained to become more aware of his/her actions because of their anger issues
• They need to learn to use their anger as a cue to initiate their coping strategies
• The parents to make sure they positively reinforce their children whenever they display self-control and work on their behavior
• Children under the age of 9 need intervention for themselves so that they can manage their children, with a disruptive behavior disorder, well.

Also read: 10 Common Reasons Why Teens Seek Therapy (& How It Might Benefit Them)

Endnote

There are a lot of children who suffer from disruptive behavior disorder. The sad part is that most children and their parents aren’t even aware of this mental health condition. Disruptive behavior disorder is a treatable mental health condition.

If you happen to see any of the symptoms of a disruptive behavior disorder in your child or any other, make sure you help them get some professional help. Most importantly, the parent needs as much help as the child with disruptive behavior disorders needs.

I hope you found this blog informative and helpful! Do share this blog with all parents so that no child with disruptive behavior disorder is left untreated.

Thanks for reading.

Take care and stay safe.