Over 1 Million Thai Children Suffer from “ADHD” Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

BANGKOK – Dr Boonruang Trairuangvorawat, director-general of Mental Health Department, reported on Monday that over one million Thai children aged 6-12 are suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and over half of them will eventually have mental health problems.

About 12 percent of Thai boys are inflicted with ADHD compared to the world’s average 10 percent and most ADHD cases were detected before the children turned seven years of age, he said.

He told Thai PBS that if the children were not treated at an early age, the disorder would affect their development and live with them until they grow up to become adults with such behaviors as anti-social, prone to violence or being depressed.

He explained that ADHD stemmed from disorder of the brain functioning which was manifested in three major behaviors: inattentiveness, impulsiveness and hyperactivity.

Meanwhile, Dr Suriyataew Triparti, director of the National Institute for Child and Family Development of Mahidol University, blamed parents for contributing to ADHD by putting too much pressure on their children such as urging them to read or to write before they enter schools or not paying attention to child bearing while letting them exposed to the media.

Dr Mathurata Suwanpo, director of Ratchanakarin Institute of Child and Youth Mental Health, said the institute had developed an application which would help in parents, teachers and medical staff in monitoring children with ADHD.

The application will provide information about ADHD, assess the behaviors of the children with ADHD and follow up the progress of the children in their study and behaviors.

She explained that ADHD is present in every child because of some substance in the brain which will affect the child’s development. The child’s condition will worsen if /she is not properly taken care of by the parents, she added.