The effect of neuropsychiatric disorders on the children

The reactions of children with various types of neuropsychiatric disorder to their own ailment have already been briefly reviewed in Chapter 3. The purpose of highlighting these reactions here is to suggest that intervention cannot be properly planned without taking them into account. The child with DAMP/ADHD/clumsy child syndrome who has judged himself to be ‘different from the rest’, ‘abnormal’ or ‘not good enough/not wanted’ is likely to behave very differently from the child with the same type of neuropsychiatric disorder who has, instead, developed an aggressive stance, blaming parents, peers and teachers for all his/her problems. Only a proper analysis of the interactions between underlying neuropsychiatric disorder and the coping style of the child (Rutter & Garmezy, 1983) can guide the intervention/treatment in directions that are likely to be helpful to the affected individual and his/her environment (Williams, Pleak & Hanesian, 1991).

Sibling reactions

There is a considerable literature on the interactions of siblings (Dunn & McGuire, 1992), but the number of studies that directly address the issue of the effects on siblings of having a neuropsychiatrically disordered brother or sister is limited. It is generally concluded that siblings of neuropsychiatrically disordered brothers and sisters have more emotional and behavioural problems than children with nonhandicapped siblings. The problems are partly correlated with factors characterizing the handicapped child (severity and type of illness), the non-handicapped sibling him/herself (birth order and gender) and of parental relations (Senapati & Hayes, 1988).