PATRICIA MCGUIRE

ODD is a description, not an explanation. It tells you what a child does: argues, refuses, digs in, erupts. It tells you nothing about why. And the why is everything. Because underneath roughly two out of three of these children, hiding in plain sight, is not defiance at all. It is anxiety. A child who is frightened of getting it wrong, frightened of being trapped, frightened of a change he didn't see coming, and who has learned that the only way to feel safe is to plant his feet and say no. Follow Theo and his parents as they learn to understand what's behind the defiance they see and how they can help him.