| It's well-known that Conduct Disorder treatment is | | | | Parent Management Training (PMT), is an approach |
| difficult, and very often not very successful. When | | | | that teaches parents very specific techniques and |
| your child is diagnosed as having Conduct Disorder | | | | procedures designed to improve parent-child |
| (CD), what are the "Best Practices?" Where do you | | | | interactions. The idea is to improve inconsistent and |
| find help? It's not easy. As you may know, there are | | | | ineffective parenting. Parents are taught to notice and |
| two varieties. A diagnosis made before age ten is | | | | reinforce positive, appropriate behaviors, while |
| referred to as the "childhood-onset" type. (Some | | | | employing brief, not overly harsh, punishments and |
| children begin showing signs as young as age three, or | | | | logical consequences when negative behavior crops |
| even age two.) If the child doesn't begin showing signs | | | | up. If the parent(s) are willing to learn and able to utilize |
| of CD before age ten, he or she is referred to as | | | | the concepts, they can make significant progress. |
| having "adolescent-onset" CD. | | | | Group therapy isn't often very useful. Some studies |
| Adolescent-onset CD has a much better prognosis, | | | | have demonstrated some success, but most studies |
| and is the type to be discussed here. | | | | have found that group therapy tends to make the |
| Adolescent-onset Conduct Disorder is diagnosed | | | | behaviors worse, presumably because through |
| where a youngster over age 10 shows any three of | | | | discussions with, and exposure to others with CD, the |
| these behaviors: | | | | negative behavior and attitudes get reinforced. |
| | | | Individual therapy alone is generally not very effective, |
| 1. Aggression against people or animals | | | | although it sometimes helps to assist the teen to |
| 2. Non-aggressive destruction of property | | | | adhere to a comprehensive program. |
| 3. Deceitfulness, lying, and theft | | | | Boot camps have often shown good results at first, |
| 4. Serious violations of rules | | | | but not very good long-term results. Boot Camp |
| CD is very often preceded by "Oppositional Defiance | | | | graduates consistently are found to be arrested more |
| Disorder", or "ODD". Some authorities think that ODD is | | | | often and to commit more serious crimes. Just as with |
| simply an early stage of CD, but most investigators | | | | group therapy, it is believed that the attitudes and |
| think that there is a qualitative difference between the | | | | behaviors are reinforced by others in the camp. Also, |
| two, as evidenced by the aggressive and destructive | | | | there isn't any mechanism for changing the family |
| aspects of CD which are much more evident than | | | | dynamics or for teaching better parenting skills. In |
| they are in ODD. | | | | addition, at the end of the camp session, the teen is |
| Conduct Disorder is often accompanied by ADHD, or | | | | likely to find himself back in the same old environment, |
| with learning disorders like dyslexia or reading | | | | where the learning and skills learned at camp are not |
| problems, or both, which really compounds the | | | | likely to be supported or reinforced. |
| problems. Now you have an angry, defiant child | | | | What to do? What are the prospects? |
| exhibiting anti-social, even criminal behavior, who is | | | | As the parent of a youngster with CD, you have a |
| failing in school, not that he seems to care. At the | | | | very tough row to hoe, with no guarantees. Some |
| same time, because of his antisocial behavior, most of | | | | youngsters diagnosed as having Conduct Disorder |
| his peers reject him or her at exactly the time when | | | | resist treatment, and don't outgrow it. They may |
| peer relationships are most important. Add all this to | | | | become adults having severe behavior issues, regularly |
| the difficult family situation, and you have a prescription | | | | in trouble with the law. Fortunately, many youngsters |
| for a nightmare for the teen, the school, parents and | | | | do get through it, and become responsible members of |
| family, and society. | | | | society. |
| It's a complex disorder, and treatment usually requires | | | | A complete evaluation will help determine if there are |
| that parents learn better parenting skills, that family | | | | other issues, such as ADHD, learning disabilities, or |
| therapy be entered into, and, often, that medication be | | | | serious depression compounding the problem. Only |
| employed, especially when ADHD is a co-existing | | | | when you know and understand all facets of the |
| condition, as it is about 50% of the time. None of these | | | | problem, can a comprehensive treatment plan with a |
| are simple or easy, especially in severe cases where | | | | chance of working be designed and successfully |
| there is little communication, and huge resistance on | | | | implemented. |
| the part of the teenager. | | | | |