ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights how the spectrum of challenging behaviors is diagnosed, stressing common diagnoses such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder. When the assessment was completed, a number of diagnoses were indicated, including an anxiety disorder, ADHD, ODD, and a reading disorder (dyslexia). There often are brain-based mechanisms that actually predict the co-occurrence of ADHD and anxiety, or anxiety and depression, or ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. The potential consequences of mood and behavioral disorders throughout adolescence may include greater separation from typically developing peers; consideration of more restrictive placements such as private and separate day schools, psychiatric hospitals, and residential treatment centers; and increased interactions with the mental health and juvenile justice systems. Such criteria enhance agreement among clinicians and researchers treating individuals with emotional and behavioral disorders.
