Author: Debra Sale Wendler Copyright (c) 2008 Debra Sale Wendler If your child has ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) or bipolar, you're familiar with child behavior problems. If your child has signs of autism, ADHD or ADD (attention deficit disorder), Aspergers, or PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified), you may be seeing challenging behaviors. Five Warning Signs of Challenging Child Behavior: If you suspect that your child's difficult behavior is something more than just being a kid, these are the warning signs of a full-fledged challenging child. 1. Refuses to look up into your eyes. This is one of the early signs that your parent-child relationship is in trouble. He refuses to look up into your eyes because that gives you power. He doesn't trust you enough to give you that control. To test this, ask your child to sit beside you while you show him something, for example, a book or picture. Ask a friend or older child to ob

Author: Debra Sale Wendler Copyright (c) 2008 Debra Sale Wendler Children with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), bipolar, autism, Asperger's syndrome, and PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified), can be very difficult. If your child has one of these conditions, he may try to push your buttons so you lose control and he wins. The only way out of this gridlock is to develop some refusal tactics of your own. Adopt these winning tactics that soothe your child and elevate your parenting style: 1. Refuse to argue. Your child's first line of defense (and distraction from the real issue at hand) is to start an argument. Counter his defensive tactic with your calm logic. For example, if you child doesn't want to do the dishes, he may say, "I didn't eat any of that stupid dinner so I'm not doing the stupid dishes. " You can say, "I hear you. The chore chart shows clearly that you wash

Author: Debra Sale Wendler Copyright (c) 2008 Debra Sale Wendler If your child has ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) or bipolar, you're familiar with child behavior problems. If your child has signs of autism, ADHD or ADD (attention deficit disorder), Aspergers, or PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified), you may be seeing challenging behaviors. Five Warning Signs of Challenging Child Behavior: If you suspect that your child's difficult behavior is something more than just being a kid, these are the warning signs of a full-fledged challenging child. 1. Refuses to look up into your eyes. This is one of the early signs that your parent-child relationship is in trouble. He refuses to look up into your eyes because that gives you power. He doesn't trust you enough to give you that control. To test this, ask your child to sit beside you while you show him something, for example, a book or picture. Ask a friend or older child to ob