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Originally Posted By WWW.CHSADOPTION.COMChildren with AD/HD Living in Alternative Families As a clinical psychologist who has worked with children who have AD/HD for most of my professional life, I like to think that I am on top of current issues in the field of AD/HD. But only recently did I realize that there is an abundance of children with AD/HD whose special needs are complicated by the fact that they live in what has been labeled alternative familiesӔ that is, families formed by adoption, separation and divorce, and remarriage. Though no epidemiological studies bear directly on the question of how many children with AD/HD live in these alternative environments, we can conclude that the number is substantial by extrapolating from statistics concerning total numbers of children with AD/HD and total numbers of children living in alternative families. Yet, to the best of my knowledge, the needs of these children and their families have not been adequately addressed by professionals; I could not locate one book or article written to help parents and professionals guide and support this group of youngsters. Adopted Children with AD/HD Although adopted children comprise only about two percent of children in the United States, they appear in mental health clinics at a rate 3 to 6 times higher than children who are not adopted. A majority of those who receive mental health care are diagnosed with externalizing disorders, such as AD/HD, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder, and many have learning disabilities. Many children with AD/HD have poor self-esteem to begin with. Couple that with the conflicted feelings and emotions that may arise as they come to understand that their birth parents chose to have them adopted, and self-esteem can plummet even further. Moreover, they even feel different from their peers with AD/HD who live with their biological families. To complicate matters more, communication problems, which are common in families with children with AD/HD, can often be exacerbated by a greater generation gap as, statistically-speaking, adoptive parents are somewhat older than biological parents. IF you are a Mother who lost her child to adoption,it might be wise to make a small donation to this organization,for obvious reasons.You child may need their help.... to read complete article go to: or: WWW.CHSADOPTION.COM
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