The need for improved recognition of neurodevelopmental conditions in adopted and fostered young people
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6413876 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas Cawthorne (0000-0003-4537-0016, National Adoption and Fostering Team, South London and Maudsley Mental Health NHS Trust, UK), Matt Woolgar (0000-0002-3618-0395, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 256-264 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-29 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Adoption & Fostering (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0308-5759 • E-ISSN: 1740-469X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/03085759251338324 |
| OpenAlex | W4410841595 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 42 |
Care-experienced young people face higher rates of mental health issues and neurodevelopmental conditions compared to the general population. However, many of these young people and their families struggle to access effective support, with widespread dissatisfaction toward child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). This challenge is likely worsened by a growing tendency to overdiagnose attachment disorders and trauma, often at the expense of identifying more common conditions like autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this article, we highlight how adopted and fostered children are at a significantly higher risk for both autism and ADHD, due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. We then explore how the failure to recognise these neurodevelopmental conditions can lead to poor outcomes for these young people and their families. Additionally, we emphasise the need to develop and support specialist services capable of conducting multidisciplinary assessments for this population, due to complex presentations that require careful differential diagnoses. Finally, we provide a case example of a 16-year-old girl referred to the National Adoption and Fostering Team (a Tier 4 National and Specialist CAMHS), which demonstrates how the previous failure to identify her autism and ADHD led to substantial harm
Autism · Developmental psychology · Environmental health · Girl · Harm · Mental health · Multidisciplinary approach · Neurodevelopmental disorder · Population · Psychiatry · Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Child Welfare and Adoption · Clinical Psychology · Family and Disability Support Research · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology
Psychiatric Disorders in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Prevalence of co-occurring mental health diagnoses in the autism population
Genetics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Global prevalence of autism
The Prevalence of Mental Disorders Among Children and Adolescents in the Child Welfare System
Psychiatric disorder among British children looked after by local authorities
Research Review
The diverse neurobiological processes and legacies of early adversity
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |