Despite the fact that hyperkinesis is treatable, a far higher proportion of children with the condition than others with behavioural problems are being taken into care, according to research published last week (Children Now, 23 February-1 March).
Hyperkinesis, or severe hyperactivity, affects around one per cent of children in the UK. Researchers, examining more than 200 children with mental health or behavioural problems, found hyperkinetic children were more than three times as likely to be referred to foster parents, children's homes, adoptive families and, in a few cases, hospitals as children without the condition.
Report author Dr David Foreman, a consultant at the child and adolescent mental health service in Bracknell, says parents of hyperkinetic children find it particularly difficult to cope because the disorder tends to be associated with other problems.
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