How Childhood Trauma Could Be Mistaken for ADHD

Anyone who works in child welfare or has fostered/adopted from the child welfare system knows that an overwhelming percentage of children in foster care are diagnosed with ADHD. In fact, children in foster care are three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. While it has become a common diagnosis, researchers and clinicians have recently begun to study the relationship between ADHD symptoms and trauma. Lack of resources and time allows children in foster care to slip through the cracks and creates a tradition of overmedicating without getting to the root of the cause. Below is an article originally published in 'The Atlantic' explaining the relationship between trauma and ADHD symptoms, and what clinicians can do to prevent misdiagnosis.