The Perceptions of Mothers of Sons with ADHD

This article describes mothers' own reports of bringing up a son diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The effects of this widely misunderstood condition on the child, the family, and the wider social network (including medical and education systems) are many and complex. Although there is evidence for a biological basis for this condition, ADHD symptoms are also seen in children of abusive, or other disordered parenting. Children showing ADHD symptoms are often seen to be undisciplined, and their parents assumed to be either abusive or overindulgent. Many problems suffered by these families, particularly the mothers, may be due to the confusion of these two aetiologies. Rather than being seen as suffering from brain dysfunction, children are responded to with generalised social disapproval and ultimately ostracism. The article will describe the effects of the behavioural symptomatology as it influences the thinking, in accordance with the beliefs of casual observers, about its underlying causes.