Attachment insecurity and ADHD

We recently had a lecture where the visiting artist spoke about the behaviour of attachment theory.

This led me to research into John Bowlby’s attachment theory in order to prepare for my placement where I’ll be working with children. It got me questioning the relation between ADHD and insecure attachment, as the behaviour the child may be presenting in a school environment would be very similar. I wonder if this is why so many children these days are diagnosed with ADHD. I hear it all the time, ‘Everyone has ADHD nowadays!’ or ‘ADHD didn’t exist when I was young!’.

Are children with insecure attachment being diagnosed wrongly? This an issue that is bothering me because if this is true, that many children are wrongly diagnosed, then what can I do about it? The school system of diagnosis needs to change. Maybe the therapist will be able to help with the symptoms of insecure attachment prior to any diagnosis of ADHD as more art therapists are being employed in schools.

According to the NHS website ‘ADHD is the most common behavioural disorder in the UK. It is estimated the condition affects 2-5% of school-aged children and young people.’ It’s extraordinary how many children are affected. More research needs to be done in this area in regards to art therapy as a tool for ADHD. The NHS also mentions the potential causes of the condition stating that, ‘Potential risk factors include: being male’, which leads me to thinking that if the condition is often misdiagnosed then these children are suffering from a form of attachment disorder. If this is the case then one must research into the attachment of the primary care giver with babies who are male and female. I say this because most children with ADHD happen to be male. I find this all very interesting and something to be aware of when I start my placement.

 I read an interesting article on the matter and was somewhat discouraged as Clarke et al states, '... no research has used early measures of attachment to predict the onset of ADHD symptoms'. (Clarke et al. 2002:181). I feel excited at the prospect of making a difference to the art therapy profession once I'm qualified. I want to make a difference!

Bibliography

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: ADHD (n.d) nhs [online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx [Accessed 18 November 2013]

Clarke, L et. al (2002) 'Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is Associated with Attachment Insecurity'. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry [online] Vol. 7 no. 2 pp.179-198. Sage journals. Available at:  https://uhvpn.herts.ac.uk/content/7/2/,DanaInfo=ccp.sagepub.com+179.full.pdf+html [Accessed 18 November 2013]