Poor Parenting NOT to Blame for ADHD

Parents, are you tired of being blamed for your child's ADHD. GOOD NEWS!

'Poor Parenting Not to Blame for Hyperactive Children'

By John von Radowitz, Science Correspondent, PA News


Hyperactive children suffer from a genuine inherited disorder that in serious cases can cause severe mental illness, an expert said today.

Professor Eric Taylor carried out a study which found that some children were four times more likely to develop mental problems than those who behaved normally.

He said it would be wrong to blame cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on poor parenting, or the children themselves.

But there was evidence that chaotic and disorganised home conditions could trigger symptoms in children who are genetically susceptible to the condition.

The kind of mental difficulties seen in hyperactive children ranged from Depression to bi-polar disorder – a severe psychotic condition characterised by extreme mood swings and delusions.

Much controversy surrounds ADHD, which is seen by some as an illness requiring medical treatment and dismissed by others as nothing more than unruly behaviour.

Typically children with the disorder are impulsive'Poor Parenting Not to Blame for Hyperactive Children'

By John von Radowitz, Science Correspondent, PA News


Hyperactive children suffer from a genuine inherited disorder that in serious cases can cause severe mental illness, an expert said today.

Professor Eric Taylor carried out a study which found that some children were four times more likely to develop mental problems than those who behaved normally.

He said it would be wrong to blame cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on poor parenting, or the children themselves.

But there was evidence that chaotic and disorganised home conditions could trigger symptoms in children who are genetically susceptible to the condition.

The kind of mental difficulties seen in hyperactive children ranged from Depression to bi-polar disorder – a severe psychotic condition characterised by extreme mood swings and delusions.

Much controversy surrounds ADHD, which is seen by some as an illness requiring medical treatment and dismissed by others as nothing more than unruly behaviour.

Typically children with the disorder are impulsive'Poor Parenting Not to Blame for Hyperactive Children'

By John von Radowitz, Science Correspondent, PA News


Hyperactive children suffer from a genuine inherited disorder that in serious cases can cause severe mental illness, an expert said today.

Professor Eric Taylor carried out a study which found that some children were four times more likely to develop mental problems than those who behaved normally.

He said it would be wrong to blame cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on poor parenting, or the children themselves.

But there was evidence that chaotic and disorganised home conditions could trigger symptoms in children who are genetically susceptible to the condition.

The kind of mental difficulties seen in hyperactive children ranged from Depression to bi-polar disorder – a severe psychotic condition characterised by extreme mood swings and delusions.

Much controversy surrounds ADHD, which is seen by some as an illness requiring medical treatment and dismissed by others as nothing more than unruly behaviour.

Typically children with the disorder are impulsive'Poor Parenting Not to Blame for Hyperactive Children'

By John von Radowitz, Science Correspondent, PA News


Hyperactive children suffer from a genuine inherited disorder that in serious cases can cause severe mental illness, an expert said today.

Professor Eric Taylor carried out a study which found that some children were four times more likely to develop mental problems than those who behaved normally.

He said it would be wrong to blame cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on poor parenting, or the children themselves.

But there was evidence that chaotic and disorganised home conditions could trigger symptoms in children who are genetically susceptible to the condition.

The kind of mental difficulties seen in hyperactive children ranged from depression to bi-polar disorder – a severe psychotic condition characterised by extreme mood swings and delusions.

Much controversy surrounds ADHD, which is seen by some as an illness requiring medical treatment and dismissed by others as nothing more than unruly behaviour.

Typically children with the disorder are impulsive inattentive, disorganised, restless and volatile.

About 5% of Britain’s school age population are thought to have ADHD, and of these 1.4% may be suffering from an extreme form of the disorder.

In the US, 6% of all children are prescribed drugs such as Ritalin for ADHD. But in Britain the disorder is far less recognised, with only about 0.33 of school-age children receiving medication.

Research suggests there is a strong genetic component to ADHD, and scientists are now searching for the genes responsible.

Prof Taylor, from the Institute of Psychiatry in London, looked for answers to the riddle of ADHD by studying a group of about 200 boys for 10 years from the age of seven.

Some of the children, from Newham, east London, showed symptoms of hyperactivity while others were normal or displayed other kinds of problem behaviour.

Of the 50-odd children classified as hyperactive, roughly 35% went on to develop mental disorders – more than four times the average population rate of 8%.

This was clear evidence that ADHD was a real, not fictional, illness, said Prof Taylor.

He told the British Association Festival of Science at the University of Exeter: “Essentially, the parents and families are right. It should be thought of as a long term, subtle disability.”

Prof Taylor also conducted a review of his own and other studies in which children with ADHD were given brain scans.

They revealed small but significant changes to the right frontal lobe, the central part cerebellum and basal ganglia. Each of these regions was slightly underdeveloped and under-active.

“They are the bits of the brain you and I use when we’re holding back or stopping ourselves from doing something,” said Prof Taylor.

However, the picture is made more complicated by other evidence of the impact of parenting on children with ADHD.

Dr David Daley, from the University of Wales at Bangor, told the conference of studies which linked symptoms of ADHD to negativity, poor monitoring, inconsistent discipline and physical punishment.

Bad parenting was not the cause of the disorder, but may in certain circumstances trigger it in a susceptible child, he suggested.

“If you have a genetic disorder for ADHD and also you’re growing up in the right sort of environment, living in chaotic and disorganised conditions, then that’s the right sort of environment in which to express the symptoms of ADHD,” said Dr Daley.

Paradoxically, research also showed that some mothers with ADHD whose children had similar symptoms turned out to be good, loving parents.

Prof Taylor said mild levels of ADHD should not be a concern and could even have benefits.

“Quite often people with these traits are successful at high speed jobs, the kind where you need a rapid response rather than a lot of forethought,” he said. “A lot of them are quite good as traders, and also performers.”

The comedian Billy Connolly was a self-proclaimed hyperactive, he said.

It was probable that evolution had conserved the genes for hyperactivity because in the past they had offered a survival advantage.

One group of researchers had found that during a drought in East Africa, the most active children were also the most likely to survive.

“Mild levels of hyperactivity may have lots of advantages,” said Prof Taylor. “They can make you more sparky and interesting. Society may need its hyperactives.”