ADHD and social work with children and adolescents

Abstract

This article aims to alert social work researchers and practitioners to the importance of engaging in research and debate about how to approach and understand ADHD among children in general and locked-after children in care in particular. Social work researchers have largely been absent from academic discussions about the 'ADHD epidemic' despite the fact that the prevalence of ADHD diagnosis and medication is very high in child welfare populations. The social work profession can make important contributions to understanding a phenomenon that is common among children and adolescent clients, that is often co-morbid with other conditions such as conduct disorder and that is linked to social adversity. We argue that research on ADHD in the child welfare systems should be a top priority in social work, and outline some important questions that need to be addressed by both researchers and social workers. ABSTRAKT Trots att förekomsten av ADHD-diagnoser och ADHD-medicin är mycket hög inom den sociala barnavården har forskare inom socialt arbete i stor utsträckning lyst med sin frånvaro i akademiska diskussioner kring "ADHDepidemin". Denna artikel syftar till att uppmuntra forskare och praktiker inom socialt arbete att bidra till forskningen och debatten om hur vi ska förstå ADHD bland barn i allmänhet och samhällsplacerade barn i synnerhet. Socialt arbete som profession kan bidra med viktig förståelse av ett fenomen som är vanligt bland barn och ungdomar som är i kontakt med socialtjänsten, som ofta förekommer tillsammans med andra tillstånd och som är sammanlänkat med social utsatthet. Vi menar att forskning kring ADHD inom den sociala barnavården bör prioriteras högt och pekar på viktiga frågor som behöver adresseras av såväl forskare som praktiker.

The challenges that social care services face in relation to looked after children with neurodevelopmental disorders: A unique insight from a social worker perspective

“…Some parents had voluntarily placed these children in care as they found this to be the safest option for the child. This reflects other research, which has shown that children with ADHD and ASD are over-represented in residential care (Buescher, et al., 2014; Dein, et al., 2021; Karlsson and Lundström, 2021). There are some protective factors to these placements.…”

“…The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on ADHD management suggest that children with this condition should only be prescribed medication if they have severe impairments that have adverse impacts on their daily lives (NICE, 2019). The social worker should play a key role in this area as they are the ones who work closely with LAC and have a unique, privileged insight into their individual daily needs (Karlsson and Lundstr€ om, 2021).…”

Facilitators and barriers along pathways to higher education in Sweden: a disability lens

“…Nonetheless, it is a recognised disability in Sweden, and is accorded the same rights as all other disabilities. What makes ADHD an even more interesting lens for this study is the evidence of it being overrepresented among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups (Karlsson and Lundström 2021).…”

Prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in looked after children (Lac) versus children that are not looked after (non-Lac) and adverse outcomes: A systematic review and Meta-analysis

“…The higher usage of mental health services for Lac could be a contributory factor to the ndings detailed in the Mandell et al (2008) study. Medication prescription and usage has been noted as high in the Lac population in several studies (19,104,105). The number of children aged between 0-5 years who had been prescribed medication raises some concern.…”