Knowledge and Perceptions of Child-Care Social Workers about ADHD

Correspondence to David Pentecost, Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Finchley Memorial Hospital, Granville Road, London, N12 0JE. E-mail: david.pentecost{at}lineone.net Summary Four hundred and forty social work practitioners for children,including those of Guardian ad Litem status, were surveyed regardingtheir knowledge and perceptions concerning attention deficithyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Questionnaires were distributedto the social workers via managers in seven boroughs in thesouth-east of England. The majority of practitioners in thesample were able to correctly identify the key diagnostic criteriaclosely associated with the condition. Over a third of respondentswere unsure of the appropriateness of treatment with stimulantmedication while the large majority felt that psychosocial interventionsinvolving the families were appropriate. Length of post-qualifyingexperience was found to be a crucial variable influencing bothknowledge about ADHD and the preferences for interventions forthe condition. Less than three out of ten practitioners regardedit as important to involve the Children with Disabilities Teams(CDTs) in such cases and a similar proportion were unaware oflocal resources that may support these children and their families.The results are discussed in relation to previous studies, implicationsfor social work practice and training and the role of CDTs inthe field.