Sufferers of AD/HD go untreated

Galway conferenceThe under-recognition of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) in Ireland means large numbers of adolescents and adults are going untreated. This trend is causing great difficulties in the lives of many young people and their families, a conference in Galway heard.

Not only is the life expectancy of a person with AD/HD lower than that of the general population, the condition is associated with a wide range of social and emotional problems which, for 50 to 70 per cent of people, continue through adulthood.

In Europe, AD/HD is not generally accepted as a diagnostic term and the prognosis of the condition is widely debated. However, there is growing concern in psychiatry, forensic services, drug addiction and rehabilitation units within the criminal justice and social welfare system that AD/HD may well be one of the most important indicators of adult psycho-social ill health.

Prof Paul Cooper of the University of Leicester, who specialises in emotional and behavioural difficulties, told the Irish National Council of AD/HD Support Groups conference that 3 to 5 per cent of the school- going population was affected by AD/HD to varying degrees and the condition was four times more common in boys.

Prof Cooper outlined the wide range of problems associated with the condition: 90 per cent of children with AD/HD are underproductive in their school work; 20 per cent have reading difficulties; 60 per cent have serious handwriting problems; 30 per cent do not complete secondary school; and only 5 per cent complete a degree programme, compared with 25 per cent of the general population.

Over half of all children with AD/HD exhibit other behavioural disorders: 45 per cent exhibit conduct disorder; and 25 per cent become delinquent and are arrested and convicted for some offence.

Over half of all individuals with AD/HD suffer from general emotional problems ranging from anxiety disorders to major depression which often do not present until the adolescent years.

Prof Cooper explained: "The individual responds with frustration at being constantly blamed for things that are not within their control by either becoming aggressive or turning in on themselves and becoming depressed and anxious as a result of the way they are being treated." He said the causes of AD/HD were not really known, but the three main areas of research today were focusing on brain abnormalities, cognitive deficits and genetic transmission.

Frustration and anger of Irish parents at the way the health and education systems have failed them and their children was aired at the Galway conference. One couple said they were accused of being bad parents, while another mother said the only treatment for AD/HD in Ireland was medication.