Behaviour Issues

Introduction

Behavioural disorders involve “a pattern of disruptive behaviours in children that last for at least 6 months and cause problems in school, at home, and in social situations”. This is different from the challenging behaviours children sometimes display. Healthcare professionals only diagnose a behavioural disorder when the disruptive behaviours are severe, persistent, and outside the norm for the child’s developmental stage.

You can be rest assured that at Skooc, you and your family are in good hands. 

Symptoms

Oppositional defiant disorder

Around one in ten children under the age of 12 years are thought to have oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Some of the typical behaviours of a child with ODD include:

• Low frustration threshold - Easily angered, annoyed or irritated

• Frequent Temper tantrums - Argues frequently with adults, particularly the most familiar adults in their lives, such as parents

• Refuses to obey rules, Seems to deliberately try to annoy or aggravate others

• Low self-esteem

• Seeks to blame others for any misfortunes or misdeeds.

Conduct disorder

Children with conduct disorder (CD) are often judged as ‘bad kids’ because of their delinquent behaviour and refusal to accept rules. Some of the typical behaviours of a child with CD may include:

• Repeated truancy - Frequent refusal to obey parents or other authority figures

• Lack of empathy for others

• Being aggressive to animals and other people or showing sadistic behaviours including bullying and physical or sexual abuse

• Keenness to start physical fights

• Frequent lying - Criminal behaviour such as stealing, deliberately lighting fires, breaking into houses and vandalism

• A tendency to run away from home

If you notice recurring instances of a few of these symptoms in your child, we at Skooc recommend a formal evaluation. 

Diagnosis

At Skooc, we use the following methods to confirm a diagnosis:

• Diagnosis by a specialist service, which may include a paediatrician, psychologist or child psychiatrist

• In-depth interviews with the parents, child and teachers

• Behaviour checklists or standardised questionnaires.

It is important to rule out acute stressors that might be disrupting the child’s behaviour. For example, a parent or victimising by other children might be responsible for sudden changes in a child’s typical behaviour, and these factors have to be considered initially.

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Next Steps and Intervention

Our team of professional psychologists at Skooc can help you and your child by providing the necessary interventions. Generally, the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome is likely to be. Treatment is usually multifaceted and depends on the particular disorder and factors contributing to it, but may include:

• Parental education – for example, teaching parents how to communicate with and manage their children.

• Family therapy – the entire family is helped to improve communication and problem-solving skills.

• Cognitive behavioural therapy – to help the child to control their thoughts and behaviour.

• Social training – the child is taught important social skills, such as how to have a conversation or play cooperatively with others.

• Anger management – the child is taught how to recognise the signs of their growing frustration and given a range of coping skills designed to defuse their anger and aggressive behaviour. Relaxation techniques and stress management skills are also taught.

• Support for associated problems – for example, a child with a learning difficulty will benefit from professional support. Encouragement – many children with behavioural disorders experience repeated failures at school and in their interactions with others. 

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