ABSTRACT
The work of a specialist multidisciplinary CAMHS team assessing and treating looked-after and adopted children necessitates in almost all cases consideration of whether a diagnosable mental health disorder is present, especially given present knowledge that suggests that this is so for almost 50" of looked-after children. The diagnostic process requires a full assessment of all aspects of the child's functioning, including the presence of a psychiatric disorder, developmental status, intellectual level, medical conditions, psychosocial adversity, and of their adaptive functioning, which is how far the problems interfere with everyday life. One frequently asked question concerns the hereditability of psychiatric disorders suffered by the birth parents. In addition, the general intellectual functioning of many of these birth parents is often at the lower end of the average range, and learning disability is not uncommon. The use of psycho-active medication as treatment for some of the diagnosed disorders in this population is, like the diagnosis itself, a subject of controversy at times.
