Caci, Hervé
Child abuse and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- 2022.
15
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder of complex but essentially genetic origin. From a medical perspective, dealing with maltreatment in children with ADHD means defining maltreatment and determining the risk factors and the protective factors—in particular those related to ADHD—by distinguishing between maltreatment suffered and maltreatment committed. While the World Health Organization has long had a working definition of abuse, which recognizes its complexity, this was not the case in French law until law n° 2022-140 of February 7, 2022. Other legal advances have followed, which we discuss, complementing our medical analysis with an examination of the range of judicial responses that aim to detect and prevent situations of abuse in general and in relation to ADHD in particular. Finally, we examine the necessary conditions for both medical and judicial expertise in neurodevelopmental disorders and the potentially damaging consequences that should be avoided. The originality of this article is that it was written jointly by a doctor and a lawyer.