Review: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the UK and Maharashtra

ADHD is a common disorder in "The Western World"1. There are estimates that it has a prevalence of 3.6% in boys and 0.85 % in girls in the UK and an even higher level (8.8%) in the USA. It is characterized by hyperactivity, poor powers of concentration and impulsive behaviour. In the UK whether children present to the health service with ADHD, or not, depend on how well the parents and the school manage this disorder. If management of the child breaks down in either setting the child firstly would present to the family doctor (General Practitioner or GP) and they would refer the child to the local Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) for assessment and management advice. Initially, the CAMHS team would assess the child generally to make an approximate diagnosis, bearing in mind all of the other possible behavioral disorders and mental health disorders. If the approximate diagnosis was ADHD, then the child would undergo a Conner’s Assessment2. This is a structured scored investigative tool in which the parents and the child's school professionals are questioned over about 30 topics which include answers which bear on hyperactivity, poor concentration and impulsivity, but also other questions which cover other behaviourobsessive traits. There is no doubt that the primary disorder in ASD is in social relationships and communication and the other symptoms follow from that disability7. They, like ADHD children, have a structured assessment tool - the ADOS(Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) test- that can be used to clarify diagnosis8.