Danny has always been a spirited boy, but in the past year, he has been having a lot of tantrums and acting out. He has been yelling at me, hitting me, and breaking things. I was starting to feel overwhelmed and scared.
I didn’t know what to do, so I took Daniel to see our GP. The GP referred us to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. Daniel was diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and we were assigned us a therapist and a family support worker. The therapist worked with Daniel on managing his anger and developing coping mechanisms. The family support worker helped me to understand Daniel’s condition and to develop strategies for dealing with his tantrums.
Daniel and I have been working with the service for several months now. Daniel’s tantrums have decreased in frequency and intensity. He is also better able to manage his anger and emotions. We still have issues from time to time, but we know that we have a support system.