Needs and Problems of Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and their Caregivers

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common neurobehavioral conditions that affect children. The aim of the current study was to assess needs and problems of children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their caregivers. Subjects & Methods: Design: descriptive study. Setting: This study was carried out at Psychiatry Out-patient of Pediatric Hospital, the Psychiatric Center and the Institute of Post graduate childhood studies affiliated to Ain Shams University. Subject: The purposive sample comprised of 103 children with ADHD and their caregivers. Tools: the tools of data collection included structured questionnaire, the children sleep disorders checklist and Werry Activity Scale. Results: the mean age of studied children was 7.4±2.3years and 80% of them were male. Almost two fifths of studied children had usually sleeping disorders and slightly more than half of them had moderate needs and problems. The mean age of studied caregivers was 33.4±5.8 years and majority of them were from urban. Almost two thirds of studied caregivers had unsatisfactory knowledge about ADHD. There were highly statistically significant differences between level of education and occupation of studied caregivers and their total knowledge about ADHD. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between children’s needs & problems and their caregivers' knowledge. Conclusion: It can be concluded that, more than half of studied children had moderate needs & problems and there was unsatisfactory knowledge of caregivers about ADHD. Recommendations: Counseling clinics for parents having children with ADHD are needed, also educational and training programs for caregivers are essential.