DMDD is a childhood disorder characterized by almost constant anger and irritability combined with regular and severe temper tantrums.

What is it?

DMDD is a recently identified disorder that children with a history of chronic irritability and serious temper outbursts are now recognized as having. The child is sad, bad-tempered, and/or angry almost every day. The outbursts are grossly out of proportion with the situation at hand, occur several times every week, and happen in more than one place (at home, at school, and/or with peers). Strained interactions that occur only between a child and their parents, or a child and their teacher, do not indicate DMDD.

How is it diagnosed?

For a diagnosis of DMDD, the symptoms must be evident consistently for more than a year, and interfere with a child’s ability to function at home and at school. One cause can be that the child misinterprets other people’s expressions, in which case training in facial-expression-recognition can be offered. Diagnosed children are generally under the age of 10, but not younger than 6 or older than 18. One to 3 percent of children under the age of 10 have symptoms.Children with DMDD were once identified as having pediatric bipolar disorder, but they do not present with the episodic mania or hypomania of that disorder. They are unlikely to develop bipolar, but are at a higher risk of depression and anxiety as adults.

Disruptive behavior

Children with DMDD regularly have severe temper tantrums, inconsistent with their developmental stage, three or more times a week in at least two different settings.

TREATMENT

❯ Psychotherapy for both child and family to explore emotions and develop mood management techniques.

❯ Lifestyle management including positive behavior support to establish better communication and minimize outburst triggers.

❯ Antidepressants or antipsychotics to support psychotherapy.