Oppositional defiant behaviour

Today was marked by one great episode. On Tuesdays, there is a 10 minute period at the start of the day where the year teachers meet their class. This is known as form time.

This morning, the year teachers were instructed to distribute the lanyards which the students had paid for at the beginning of the year. The lanyards denoting my year are orange. These have to be worn on school premises all the time so that everybody knows in which form one  is and in which transport route one is part of.

This particular girl, when given the lanyard, immediately opposed to it. This girl is diagnosed with  oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The latter is a condition in which a child displays an ongoing pattern of an angry or irritable mood, defiant or argumentative behaviour, and vindictiveness toward people in authority. The child's behaviour often disrupts the child's normal daily activities, including activities within the family and at school. Many children and teens with ODD also have other behavioural problems, such as attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, mood disorders (such as depression), and anxiety disorders. Some children with ODD go on to develop a more serious behaviour disorder called conduct disorder.

This girl fits into this picture perfectly. She is supported by a learning support educator on a one to one basis. Usually she is very quiet. Today, her reaction to the lanyard was explosive. She began screaming, shouting and running away from her LSE. She used obscene language in my regard, and also in front of the other assistant heads.

Her mother was contacted and after some persuading about the gravity of the situation, she left her workplace and came to school. The girl was also angry at her mother, especially when my colleagues and I told her about the events of the morning and how she had escaped from the learning support assistant four times.

The saga ended at around eleven in the morning, when mother and daughter left the school together. The event had drained me of all the energy. I am so looking forward to the mid-term holidays!