If you have a child exhibiting symptoms of defiance, anger, rage, and more, these tips for a holistic oppositional defiant disorder treatment are for you.
The anger. The yelling. The tears. The mood swings. And I’m just talking about the behavior of the mama of a child with Oppositional Defiant Disorder. I kid, but let’s be honest, having a child with ODD is hard on the whole family. If you’ve read how we healed symptoms of PANDAS, it will come as no surprise that we’ve taken a holistic approach to our oppositional defiant disorder treatment.
The symptoms of ODD and PANDAS actually overlap a lot, and though they have two different clinical names, the white coats tend to be behind on the fact that emotional and psychiatric disorders are caused by underlying infections. For our son, it was all wrapped up in a strep infection in his gut.
I had made the obvious connections with diet and pinpointed reactions to food (read about one surprising trigger food here), but it was years after the onset of his ODD symptoms that we had testing done which revealed the strep infection. That was when the real work started.
Our holistic oppositional defiant disorder treatment
If you’re living with a child with symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder, you’re probably at your wit’s end, wondering what you can do to help your child.
Kids with ODD
- lack respect for authority
- become angry when they don’t get their way
- manipulate the people around them to get their way
- exhibit unreasonable anger over seemingly small things
- are aggressive towards other children and even authority figures
- suffer from mood swings
- may also suffer from depression and anxiety.
Indeed, our son had all these symptoms and more. Thankfully, at the onset of his symptoms, our family was already interested in healthful eating and natural remedies, so a holistic oppositional defiant disorder treatment wasn’t a stretch.
Earlier this year, we rid our son of ODD for the first time since the whole ordeal started (he developed symptoms following an illness when he was four, which is associated with PANDAS).
Here’s what we did.
Diet
If you’ve heard me say it once, you’ve heard me say it a thousand times: diet is king. Before anything else, you have to get your child’s inflammation and food reactions under control.
In a disorder like ODD, a couple of things are happening behind the scenes. For one, the child is reacting to triggers in his environment: food and other toxins like mold and chemical exposures like laundry and cleaning supplies or home fragrances.
Secondly, poor food choices feed unwanted pathogens, making them stronger while the immune system and gut become weaker.
Children with ODD and related disorders (think of children on the autism spectrum, which is inclusive of a huge range of behaviors) are very sensitive. If they have a steady stream of toxins entering their body, their body will stay bogged down and their neurological and emotional health will be compromised.
Not only should you switch to natural products in your home, but it is very necessary to change the diet of a child with ODD.
We started with removing these five ingredients. Following the removal of harmful food additives, we removed refined sugars (see my guide to sugars to learn about acceptable replacements), then gluten and all grains, as well as processed dairy (we eat high-quality dairy which is raw, cultured, and grass-fed), and, eventually, we did the GAPS diet.
Changing our son’s diet got us 75% of the way to healing. The only problem was that he could not tolerate any cheating. Even a small amount of residue resulted in a meltdown.
After we found out about the strep, we tried lots of options for a natural oppositional defiant disorder treatment. Some were helpful, but most waned after time.
I wrote about how we used diatomaceous earth, oregano extract, and intestinal tract defense to rid our son of PANDAS symptoms. Following our success with those remedies, I added in what I now call the “game-changer.”
Our game-changing oppositional defiant disorder treatment
At the beginning of last year, we saw a holistic PA, who did the testing for us that revealed the strep infection. He also put us on a supplement called Liver Life from BioRay. I noticed an immediate improvement in both my and my son’s health after taking this liver support. It contains mushrooms and other nutrients to support detoxification of the liver.
When I learned that BioRay had come out with a children’s line of supplements, my interest was peaked, because I had already been impressed with Liver Life. One day, while browsing the supplements section, I came across one of their children’s supplements, called “Happy.” A tag on the bottle caught my eye: “formulated for unreasonable anger.”
I took the bottle home that day and started my son on it immediately (in fact, I’m pretty sure I gave him his first dose in the car). I noticed an improvement in his overall demeanor after just one dose.
I began giving him the maximum dose twice a day and he became more pleasant and helpful, and all traces of anger vanished.
Even in the midst of choosing joy over a strict diet, his symptoms of ODD stayed away.
Happy contains a unique blend of liver and immune-system supporting mushrooms, as well as chlorella, which supports detoxification, plus herbs that support the removal of unwanted organisms, like bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Most importantly, it has been clinically proven to reduce angry outbursts.
This formula is so powerful for removing infections that a couple of months ago, when several members of our family came down with a stomach bug that lasted for weeks, it was the only thing that finally stopped the symptoms. I had tried everything I knew of to help my family get better, and finally, on a whim, I gave Happy a try, and after one dose the stomach bug was finally abated.
Why every kid needs BioRay
Our kids are constantly fighting an uphill battle. Not only do they get bombarded with junk food everywhere they go, but our modern air and water are tainted, and they are frequently given unnecessary pharmaceuticals.
Every supplement in the BioRay kids line contains their formula they call “NDF” (natural detox factors), which is comprised of chlorella, an effective and natural ingredient for detoxification.
Chlorella is a tiny, single-celled algae. It bonds to heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, dioxins, chlorine, and BPA.
Each BioRay Kids formula combines chlorella with a blend of mushrooms, as well has herbs that are targeted to relieve a variety of symptoms.
So far, our family has used Happy, designed to alleviate unreasonable anger, Calm, designed to ease anxiety and nervous energy, and Focus, created to boost attention and improve clarity and cognitive function. Each of these formulas do what they say they do!
Please note: BioRay is not paying me to say any of this. I have just been so incredibly blown away by their unique formulas that I want every family to learn about and benefit from them. Their formulas address just about any symptom a child may be dealing with.
These formulas have done things for my son’s health that no other supplements have been able to: they provide effective, broad-spectrum,yet targeted results.
Why we’ll keep using our oppositional defiant disorder treatment
I’m finding it necessary to keep my son on these supplements, particularly as we’ve enjoyed a summer of fun foods (though fall will be bringing balance back to our diet).
BioRay sums it up well: “As parents, we’d like to think the safest place for our children is at home. However, now with environmental toxins in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe, we have to do more to ensure our kids are able to grow up healthy and happy. Did you know environmental toxins can impact how our children behave, think, interact with others and even how healthy they are?”
Because our kids are constantly exposed to toxins, keeping my son’s body healthy is not a “once and done” situation. If we go long between bottles of Happy, his symptoms start creeping back, particularly if we’ve indulged too much in birthday party food, or he spends lots of time in a new environment, which tends to stress him out and spur on symptoms. I plan to continue his oppositional defiant disorder treatment indefinitely.
Have you discovered an effective oppositional defiant disorder treatment? Share in the comments, then be sure to share this post for your friends whose children may be struggling with ODD.
Do you give both Liver Life and Happy at the same time? How much do you give? My son is 13 and weighs almost 80 pounds.
I believe you can give them at the same time. I give the other supplements together. If in doubt, BioRay is very helpful, so you could ask them to be sure.
Jaclyn
Can you give happy with the current meds the child on?
Hi Deshane. That would be a great question to ask BioRay and your doctor!
Thank you for this post!! We just ordered Happy for our high-functioning 4-year old son with autism. We’ve always wanted to try some kind of detoxification protocol with him before, but every formulation has always been for adults, never for kids! This might very well be the game changer we’ve been waiting for. I’m really excited to see what happens, and I want to put him on the focus formula too! Thank you so much for posting about this, I have been waiting for formulas like these!
I hope it helps, Lisa!
How did your child do with this? I’m needing something for my son.
This protocol helped my son very much.
Interesting I have never heard of this at all. I actually have a child with ODD and we are in therapy with him with a great doctor who has done wonders for him and for me – but I am going to ask him about this and see if he has ever heard of it. Was your son actually diagnosed with ODD by a doctor? (If it said it in there I am sorry I missed it!) – I came across this post when I was looking for updated ODD information!
Hi, I am curious what kind of help the therapist has been giving you? I have tried so many behavioral plans and have seen therapists and still see my child’s ODD worsen. Any kind of guidance of what has worked for your child would be great to know if you are willing to share! Thank you.
Hi Suzie. We don’t do any therapy. We did visit a child therapist for a little while when he was three and it was no help.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and I often work with ODD children, as well as ADHD, anger management, anxiety management, and others. The success of often depends on the commitment of the parents/caretakers, the school, doctors, and others in thier life. Just seeing the child rarely works well, especially if they are under 15-16. I have had good results with some children, fair with others, and zero with others. It is not a quick fix by any means and anyone who thinks their child who has moderate to severe problems can attend therapy by themselves for a few weeks is not being realistic. It takes a long time 2+ years and huge parental involvement in all areas of their life for 1 hour of therapy a week to be effective. You have to see therapy as a learning experience for the parent/caretaker and the child, and the parent must follow through with behavior strategies that were used in therapy throughout the week. Often we work on the same issue in different ways for several weeks or even months when you are addressing anger outbursts, ODD, and anxiety. Diet is also crucial in their everyday life. And iIf a child has a sugary drink and chips or cookies on their way to therapy, not much work is going to happen with most children. And The school must be on board to listen to the Therapist and use strategies that are found to work with that child. There is no one size fits all in child or human behavior. We are all similar, but all different individuals. Therapy has been shown to be very beneficial when used in conjunction with other things like medication (when necessary), diet, parenting skills, behavior management, classroom management, etc. But going a few times and saying it didn’t work is like someone who has hypertension taking their medication 8-10 times then wondering why they had a stroke from hypertension several months later, because they took the meds for a while. Thanks for your time.
My grandson has ADHD along with ODD. He is giving his mom a nervous breakdown. Don’t know what to do with him. He is a 3rd grader and doing well., but when he goes out with mom, his ODD embarrassed her. Soo argumentative. Don’t know what to do, we feel helpless.
Hi. I am eager to try the bioray drops. I am wondering, are you currently giving your son bioray drops AND diatomaceous earth, orgeno, and intestinal tract defense??
I found a significant reduction in aggression after my 10 y.o. daughter had her Atlas vertebra adjusted (and had weekly adjustments)
But, i still need to detox her. I also like Q96 by Empower plus for micronutrients. Do you also give your son vitamins, minerals, or micronutrients?
Thank you SO much for sharing your journey!
I was giving him all of them at once, yes. And I don’t ever use multivitamins. Our supplement routine frequently changes, other than the fact that he is always on a probiotic.
Hello, is this product effective for an 11 year old boy?
Hi Argiro, I guess it would depend on his size/weight, but I would think it would be worth a shot, as I’ve seen adults benefit from it. You could always give BIORAY a call, as they are very helpful, and may direct you to the adult version.
Thank you!
I am in tears reading this. In May my daughter had a stomach virus that lasted for a couple days. Ever since then, she has refused to wear most clothes, especially panties. She has always been picky about certain clothes but not to this extreme. She also started exhibiting extreme O.D.D. behaviors. After this I started researching sensory issues and PANDAS. I mentioned PANDAS to her pediatrician, but she has never been diagnosed with any type of strep before, so she didn’t even consider it. Please give me more information on how you had your son tested for for the strep infection. I am desperate for help, I feel like someone has taken my only child away from me.
Hi Leila. It doesn’t necessarily have to be strep. We’re learning that just about any infection may be able to cause these symptoms. PANS it closely related, but involves infections other than strep. You need to find a PANDAS specialist. It does, indeed, sound like she may have it.
I could not find a product called Happy made by Bioray. Do they not make it anymore or have they changed the name? Thank you for your post.
Hi Deanna. They definitely do still make it. You can find it here: http://bioraykids.com/ndf-happy?aff=19
Hi- thanks for highlighting this company. As an Acupuncturist I was looking for suggestions for a new ODD client. I love that this company is based on Chinese Medicine mixed with medicinal mushrooms. It looks very promising. I will share with the family. Thanks again!
Great! I hope it’s helpful to them. 🙂
Have you tried the smarty pants vitamins with the bioray happy calm and focus or anyvitiamins
No; I don’t give my kids multivitamins. I find they do not meet specific needs and are too broad.
Thank you SO MUCH for this!! We have been diligent at no gluten/dairy/sugar/food coloring and eat mostly organic, home cooked meals. However, there are still some unidentified food triggers for my 6 year olds out bursts. I’ve been looking for a good detox for her but nothing is formulated for kids. Cannot wait to try this!
I hope you notice improvements as we have Andrea!
Hi. Do you give Happy all of the time or just for blocks of time, particularly during a flare?
Can it help keep strep away?
It’s generally an all the time supplement for us, and I do believe it helps keep the strep under control.
Hi! I love all the information you give! I’ve been at my wits end with my 12 year old son and 6 year old daughter that both suffer with ADHD/odd. I ordered neural balance and magmind and am so excited to try them out. I recently read that u also give bioray focus, calm, and happy. Can u give me ur regime that u give ur kids? Do u do some at night some in the morning? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I just want them to find balance and b happy. Thank you so much.
I generally give most supplements in the morning, and again in the afternoon if needed. Currently, I’m giving herbs, neural balance, Bioray Kids supps, and magnesium at the same time.
Do you give all 3 together? (Happy, Calm & Focus )
I have and you can. 🙂
Thank you for this article. My son is having issues at school and only at school. A lot of the symptons match up with ODD. We haven’t taken him to see anyone yet because all of his behavior issues only happen at school. Has anyone else had this problem. My head is constantly racing, I’ve cried in his classroom speaking to the teacher numerous time. My little man is a great kid. But something just seems to click in him and he’s like the hulk.
Hi Ashlea. Please look into PANDAS syndrome and see if it fits. I’ve got several articles here on the blog.
Jaclyn
Have you tried micronutrients ? And can you give more info on neural balance. I am trying to find natural help for my 12 year old son who we can’t pinpoint issues but middle school has exascerbated his defiance, mood and what I always thought was ADHD. I have dealt with years of natural therapies myself in dealing with Lyme and coinfections which produce many similar symptoms and detox/gut is huge…but treating kids is a different story
Hi Lynn. Have you seen any of the PANDAS articles on my site? They may be worth giving a read, as PANDAS can be an underlying cause of these types of behavior. You can find more information on Neural Balance here: https://thefamilythathealstogether.com/five-natural-alternatives-adhd-meds/
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Hi, I have a 5 year old boy woth adhd and odd. I was wondering where to start. I jave already remove gluten and dairy from his diet oh, also have removed refined sugar and dies. Next I guess would be laundry soap, cleaning products, and hygiene products two natural products. Also you mentioned being grain-free and the gaps diet. Was the gaps diet and grain-free diet temporary? Are you still grain-free or can he incorporate grains after his gut heals? sorry I’m just wondering where to start, I need step by step instructions because I’m ready to do whatever it takes!
Hi Tammy! Yes, I would suggest changing all cleaning and personal care supplies to natural products right away. If you’re interested in GAPS (which, yes, is grain-free and temporary; our family has been able to add back in some gluten free grains), your best bet is to get the book by Dr. Natasha. Also, The Heal Your Gut Cookbook is an excellent guide and recipe book for moving through the intro diet. Best of luck!
Wow these products sound amazing! My son has never had a diagnosis, but has extreme anxiety, severe OCD, aggression, social difficulties and the list goes on. With GAPS for 2 years, the severity of his symptoms greatly lessened, but he still struggles.Hes 5 now, and while we’ve come a long way, I am so excited to try these BioRay products and Neural Balance and see how they can help him!
I hope they help, Katrina!
What labs did you do to confirm PAndas?
The smoking gun for us was a stool test that found strep overgrowth in the gut. But PANDAS/PANS is a clinical diagnosis, so an experienced doctor or practitioner can help.
Thank you for your article. We have been struggling for years with our child and I am excited to see how Happy will work.
I hope you find it works as well for your family as it has for ours!
Could you please help us our grandson has odd what dr do we see ?
Hi Catalina. I would advise looking for a naturopath, functional medicine doctor, or PANDAS specialist near you.
My son won’t take anything if it tastes bad, and he can’t swallow pills/capsules, etc.? Any success putting the drops and opening the capsules and putting them in food? Do any of the drops actually taste okay?
The Bioray Kids supplements are flavored, so my kids take them well. However, you can always keep a little juice on hand just for supplements and put them in that.
Jaclyn, I am also a mother of 4 boys and we’ve been battling ODD, OCD, anxiety, hyperactivity, and sensory issues since my third child was 2. We see a naturopath and diet does work wonders. But it’s slot of work for something that doesn’t work over night, and can easily be screwed up by one bad meal.
I just ordered chewable vitamin D for our son as well as 5-htp, so I’m going to wait on the bio ray. Just want to say your intro tugged at my heart bc it’s nice to know my family isn’t alone on this journey. I’m learning there are so many of us, but not many have the resources we do. Even then, it’s a daily struggle.
I’m going back to school to be a RN, and hopefully a FNP. I plan to practice a healthy mix of western and holistic medicine. Its very stressful, but I want to help my son and others who feel hopeless in this world of big pharma.
Some days I feel hopeless bc there is no easy fix to remove all these toxins, and I just want to move in with our local Amish community. Lol. But really ?
Thank you for being a voice.
Hi Darci. Nice to have you along for the journey. 🙂
Hi,
I don’t know if you will see this, but did your son only have ODD symptoms in certain instances? I have been wondering about my son for a few weeks now. He has for the most part been okay up until about 5 months ago. He is a strong willed, sensitive child so of course it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses, but OK for the most part. He did start Kindergarten on August 1st so that has been a big adjustment. Anyway, my question is, can ODD just happen at certain times? Everyone outside of our home thinks that he is….fabulous. We get TONS of compliments on him and what great parents we are. Even strangers to us that he has interactions with go out of their way to come tell us how great he is. He is extremely smart, kind, and caring. He does great at school, with friends, everything. But at home….wow. Its not every day either….I saw your post about the corn allergy and I am going to look into that. He is already GF and we knew that he had a dye allergy and he gets no dye. Doesn’t get a ton of sugar either. I am just lost and frustrated. Thank you for any insight.
Yes! It sounds like your son has PANDAS or PANS, especially with the sudden onset. Did he have any kind of illness before the symptoms began 5 months ago? Sometimes you don’t realize they’ve been exposed to an illness; their behavior just changes.
It is actually pretty common for these kids to be able to maintain their composure at school or in public, then fall apart when they get home, to their safe place. There’s also the possibility of mold in the home if you’ve ever had any kind of leak or water damage. He could be reacting to something in your environment at home that he isn’t exposed to during the day at school.
Your best bet is to move towards a paleo-style diet, with no grains, sugar, or dairy, and eventually to look into the GAPS diet, which heals the gut and eliminates symptoms. Praying you see improvement soon!
Your article is so inspiring. I have ordered the DE, oregano leafy tincture, intestinal tract defense, Rosita Cod liver oil, and GutPro Probiotics. My question is do you have a suggestion on what to start first, and in what order to follow? We have cut out dyes and now are working on removing gluten.
Definitely keep working towards a paleo/GAPS diet. Diet is always the foundation for healing. From there, just introduce supplements slowly and one at at time. Basics like probiotics and cod liver oil are good for everyone all the time. 🙂
I really hope this works!! My daughter is 5 yrs old and she was diagnosed with ADHD and odd she is on meds but they don’t work all the time. She can be so sweet and then switch in an instant she is very aggressive and mean , she had destroyed her classroom when she was in pre k and got kicked out. I’m hoping this helps it would be a miracle
Praying you see improvement with these tips!
Can this occur in adults? I had a stomach virus a few months back and have had severe anxiety ever since.
Also, my son (almost 4) has always been a very spirited, high needs and challenging kiddo. However, he currently has a severe case of HFMD (coxsackie virus) and his behavior is OFF THE HOOK. His defiance, outbursts/meltdowns/tantrums is currently unmatched. He isn’t eating foods he used to like. He is a nightmare. I’ve ordered Happy for him.
Yes! These symptoms can absolutely occur in adults. Bioray has an adult version of Happy that you might benefit from. Hope your son has improved on the supplement. It’s very frustrating when they respond that way to illness! So sorry!
Jaclyn,
My daughter has had MANY of the symptoms that your son has and through research, I have discovered The Niacin Cure which is basically about a doctor who used therapeutic doses of Niacin to treat mental and behavioral disorders with great success. My daughter has been on 1000mg of niacinamide a day for the last year and the results are astonishing. When she misses a few days, she becomes “that” person again. Insane tantrums, breaking things, aggression, bullying etc. But on the niacinimide she is totally different. There are virtually no side effects up to like 3000 mg. I wholeheartedly suggest that you try it. We also have addressed the food and chemical sensitivities but did not see major results until the niacinimide.
Niacin does seem to help, though I’m not sure if it’s a silver bullet. I do think the underlying conditions that result in the need to supplement high doses of niacin should be considered.
Hello,
I just got these for my kids, I’m just curious did you give the drops to your kids all at once after introducing a new one every 24 hrs. ? Like my son needs happy, calm,focus,and belly…did you give all at once for 2x a day….I reached out to bioray already but I wanted to see what others did. I know every child is different…bit how long did you see a change in your child?
It’s always good to spread out the introduction of new supplements in case there is a reaction, but once introduced, they can all be taken together.
Thank you for sharing! I would love to find something like this without nuts; my son has a severe allergy…