I welcome you, the first thing to do is see someone who is trained with children, a child pschitarist. have him tested and evualated. keep a journal of all his behaviors good or bad times of day what caused it, all that. if you are not comfortable with what they are telling you get a second opinion, do not waste any time getting this done, the younger he is and the fastest you know if are dealing with ODD or whatever the better chance you have of helping him, good luck,

I have three children. My ODD child is in the middle. My eldest, doesn't have ADD/ADHD or ODD. My son was born two years later. I noticed that he was a ferocious nurser. He clawed, bit, and screamed while nursing. My daughter never did that. His pediatrician put him on stomach meds, he said it was probably gas or colic. He still screamed and clawed and bit. In his crib, when he was about 6 months, he hung on his mobile and destroyed it. He was up and running, literally running, at 10 1/2 months, but daughter walked at 12 months. My son growled in his crib, literally growled. He hit, slapped, kicked, and bit. He was an angry baby, very moody, and VERY demanding. When he was 11 months, he had climbed out out of his crib, and because he couldn't reach the door handle to get out, he began to take all the toys out of the basket and throw them at the door. I put him back in the crib. He screamed and screamed. He took off his diaper and smeared, you know what, all over the walls, but not on him, his bed, or his hands. He used the diaper to smear. I know that sounds gross, but it was important in his docs opinion. Many babies take off their diapers and make a mess with it, but my son did it in a way to get back at me, he didn't soil himself, or where he slept, just the wall. He didn't speak a word until he was 3, just grunted, pointed, and expected us to know what he wanted, without telling us. One day, out of the blue, he just started speaking sentences! His pediatricians said there was nothing wrong with him. He was just smart, and did things either early, or when it suited him. That should have been clue #1. "When it suited him." My son was diagnosed with ODD and ADHD at five. All of the things I just related to you, his pediatric psych doctors said were signs of ODD, even the nursing! Impatience to an extreme, self-centeredness to an extreme, slyness to an extreme, physical and mental abilities to the extreme, and my son's diaper incident was proof of my son's impulse and mood control issues, even very young. So, in answer to your question, I knew there was something different about my son from about three months on. I didn't know what ODD/ADHD was, but I knew he was behaving far differently from my other child. Pediatricians kept telling me I was overreacting, he was normal, just very bright and active. All those things are normal to an extent, but when taken to an extreme, there is a problem. It took a hospitalization at the age of five for a diagnosis. When he was away from us, and watched, evaluated, and tested that's when I knew I wasn't crazy or overreacting. The docs said he was a
"tough" customer. One of the toughest they had ever seen. I agree 100% with jbugmom. The earlier you can get a handle on things, do it. It's best for them and for you. Think back, was there anything, even as a baby, that was way out of the normal range? If there is, tell that to the ped psych doc. It helps them come to better conclusions. I hope you can get some answers, and some rest. It is exhausting. I remember well!

My son was two when it started...we just never got out of the twos. When he was a baby he was easy going, hardly cried at all, was easy to take off the bottle. We just got stuck in the terrible twos and live there.

My son started around the time he turned three. It's been a rollercoaster ride since. Find a therapist. In my experience, a psychaitrist only wants to talk about drugs... My son is on them but I also see a therapist to help him with his behavior modifications...