ODD - Oppositional defiant disorder

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Over the course of the last few weeks, I have come to the suspicion that my youngest nephew may have ODD which is Oppostitional Defiant Disorder. ODD is a condition in which a child displays an ongoing pattern of an angry or irritable mood, defiant or argumentative behavior, and vindictiveness toward people in authority. The child's behavior often disrupts the child's normal daily activities, including activities within the family and at school. My nephew has ALL of the symptoms and has previously been diagnosed with ADHD which is also a part of ODD. ODD can be genetic, environmental or biological. In either category, Ryan has factors in each. Genetic: On his dad's side, there are at least 2 other family members that were diagnosed with mood disorders when they were between the ages of 10 -17, one was even institutionalized because the family just couldn't deal with him but he did get the help he needed where they sent him. Environmental: Factors such as a dysfunctional family life, a family history of mental illnesses and/or substance abuse, and inconsistent discipline by parents may contribute to the development of behavior disorders. - This fits Ryan to a T. My sister smokes pot on and off when she has the money to buy it. When she doesn't, she will find little things to yell at Ryan about. She is also very inconsistent about how she disciplines him when he does act out, often just opting out and letting her boyfriend discipline Ryan. Tonight my sister text me to tell me that she and Ryan had gotten into it again and that he flat out refused to clean the cat litter which is his ONLY chore in the house and he is supposed to do that every day. Also he told my sister that he wanted to cut off his knees because they are bothering him yet he wants to join the track team. So tonight I was FINALLY able to bring up my concerns about Ryan. She gave me the opening I needed to start the conversation and honestly, I think she was ready to hear what I had to say. Had it happened before, I don't think she would have wanted to hear it. I mean, who would? So tomorrow starts the hard part. I'm going to print out some info on ODD and show it to my sister and then possibly Ryan's dad when he picks him up for the weekend. I told my sister that when we take Ryan in to be tested for ODD that we need to have a list of any family members on both sides that had mood disorders and what they were. At the very least, I do think that Ryan needs counseling of some sort and possibly a medication to help calm him down. I'm going to talk to my friend Alison. She has custody of one of her grand kids and he has a disorder that's very similar to ODD. Let's just hope that we can find the help that Ryan needs and the sooner we can get him help, the better.