Primary School Teacher Strategies for Oppositional defiant disorder

Evidence-based strategies

Provide a positive environment
Be proactive
Build a child’s skillset
Collaborate with parents

Use lots of praise. Praising students often for positive behaviours can build confidence and reduce disruptive and challenging behaviour. This might include praise for staying focused, interacting well with others and listening to teachers. Praise can be given both individually and for others to hear.

Provide a warm and nurturing environment. A warm and supportive role model can help students learn how to have good interpersonal relationships. Look for ways to model to students how to get along with others.

Use a reward system. Punishment may not lead to changes in challenging behaviour. Instead, rewards/encouragement can be given for positive behaviours. Behaviour charts with stickers help students see their progress. Students may be more motivated if they can choose their favourite reward like a sticker, game or book.

Set clear classroom rules. Explaining the classroom rules at the start of a year or term can be helpful. Clear and simple are best (e.g. “Raise your hand before you speak”, “Keep your hands to yourself”). Teaching students why a rule is important, including how breaking a rule impacts others, may lead to more positive behaviour.

Strengthen students’ social skills. Some students with ODD may find it hard to know how to get along with others. Consider coaching them with social skills, such as how to share, apologise and agree with others, and how to have a conversation (e.g. listening, letting the other person talk, waiting their turn to talk). Opportunities to practise these skills may help. You can find other general social skills strategies on the social functioning page.

Help students build positive relationships. Positive relationships between students with ODD and teachers may help them with cooperation, motivation and learning. Connecting with students and managing frustrations with past challenging behaviour can help build a positive relationship.

Talk with students about feelings. A “feelings thermometer” on the wall can help students communicate how they are feeling without using words. Feelings card games help students learn what emotions look like.

Help students to manage their emotions. If a student gets angry or has an emotional outburst, they can take steps to calm down. Encourage them to recognise a feeling, pause, take a breath, and tell themselves to calm down or use other strategies like counting to 10. Get them to think about why they became emotional once they have calmed down.

Teach students how to relax. Learning simple ways to relax may help students with ODD manage their emotions. Watch an example of a breathing and relaxation exercise on the teacher resources page.

Encourage students to problem solve. Helping students learn to problem solve can help them persist with school work instead of getting frustrated. For example, help students identify a problem, think of possible solutions, choose the best solution, and think about if the solution worked. When students are learning how to problem solve, giving them appropriate options to choose from may be helpful.

Build strong home-school bonds. Consider involving parents through regular positive phone calls, parent-teacher interviews and homework which needs signing.

Use a home-school note system. Send positive notes home in a students’ diary for positive behaviour at school so their family can encourage them at home. These notes could describe the positive behaviour for the parent to understand.

Primary School Teacher Strategies for Oppositional defiant disorder | AllPlay Learn (2024)

Evidence-based strategies