Fiducia TogetherConduct disorder
Also called Oppositional defiant disorder, ODD
Persistent, serious behavioural difficulty in children. Frequently the visible end of something else entirely.
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your health or someone else's, speak to a GP, pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999.
What it is
Conduct disorder describes a persistent pattern of behaviour that violates rules and the rights of others: aggression, destruction, deceit, serious rule-breaking. Oppositional defiant disorder is the milder, younger form.
It is worth an entry in a health library because it is so often treated purely as a discipline problem, and because underneath it there is usually something identifiable and treatable.
Look for: undiagnosed ADHD, developmental language disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, attachment difficulties, autism, learning disability, trauma, or living with domestic abuse. Very frequently more than one.
Signs you might notice
Frequent, intense anger and defiance beyond the usual for the age.
Aggression to people or animals. Destruction of property.
Lying, stealing, truancy, running away.
Difficulty accepting responsibility and blaming others.
Behaviour that is markedly worse in some settings than others, which is a strong clue that the setting matters.
How it can affect day-to-day life
The exclusion pathway is well documented and it is grim: fixed-term exclusions, permanent exclusion, alternative provision, and substantially raised odds of contact with the criminal justice system.
The children on that pathway are disproportionately those with unmet special educational needs, those in care, and those living in poverty.
Parents are blamed, often publicly, and their own mental health suffers.
Supporting someone well
Look for the unmet need before applying the label. Get hearing, language, ADHD and learning needs assessed. A great deal of what looks like defiance is a child who cannot process the instruction.
Use evidence-based parenting programmes. NICE recommends them, they work, and being offered one is not an accusation.
Praise specifically and frequently. The ratio of positive to corrective attention is the mechanism most of these programmes rely on.
Be consistent and predictable, and keep consequences small, immediate and certain rather than large and delayed.
Protect the relationship. A child who believes an adult has given up on them has nothing to lose.
Our neurodiversity and SEND pre-screening covers the social, emotional and mental health area alongside communication, cognition and sensory needs, which is exactly the wide look this situation needs before anybody settles on a behavioural label.
Where to get help
Ask a GP or school for referral to CAMHS, and ask for a full developmental assessment rather than a behaviour clinic alone.
YoungMinds run a free parents helpline on 0808 802 5544.
If exclusion is being considered, ask for an SEN assessment first. Exclusion of a child with unmet special educational needs may be unlawful.
Tools we make that might help
These are our own products. We have put them here because they do something specific for this condition, not because every page needs a list.
Neurodiversity screening
A four-area profile that looks wider than behaviour before anybody settles on a label.
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your health or someone else's, speak to a GP, pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999.