Reading this book helped me understand that while we do have it bad at home we could have it much worse. At least our child saves it for home, rather than putting it out there for everyone else to see like many of the examples in the book, so in all our struggles and strategies we must have been doing something right. All the same, most of the responses listed for ODD children in the book felt like a snapshot of our life.
I realize that it will be a long, slow process to bring her around, but I was satisfied to find that one of the strategies was able to work through four (yes 4!) defiant beginnings at dinner last night. Perhaps a few months of hard work will break through the years of struggles we have been dealing with.
I do want to add, too, that while we are fortunate that we do not have to deal with her behaviors in school I did skim through the school chapter of the book. Working in the school system as a paraprofessional I think they did a great job advocating for parental rights and I have a new insight to the school/home dynamics. This book was a great read, not filled with stats and facts and technical jargon that some parenting books like to spew.