ABSTRACT
The unpredictable and erratic moods of adopted/looked after Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder/Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD/ADD) children make them difficult for parents and carers both at home and in the community. Living with ADHD/ADD adopted/looked after children probably carries one up more peaks and down more valleys than most families would travel, but that might bring moments of excitement and interest and serendipity that make life more enriching as well. When a child is removed from the birth family, various areas of psychosocial–emotional development can become disturbed. Children who have lost their birth mother are subject to maternal deprivation, even though the mother–child bond may not have been a healthy one. For example, when children are put into good adoptive or foster care homes, physical growth, general intellectual performance, and language often improve. Keeping the home as structured, consistent, and predictable as possible is a strategy that usually works in helping to mitigate unruly behaviour.
