Assessing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when there is a history of trauma in children and adolescents who live in care – a dimensional rather than categorical approach.

The article focuses on the complex relationship between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and trauma in children and young people living in care, highlighting the challenges in accurately assessing and diagnosing ADHD within this population. It discusses how symptoms of ADHD and trauma often overlap, complicating differential diagnosis, and emphasizes the importance of trauma-informed, holistic assessments that consider a young person's history, developmental context, and environmental factors. A group of international clinicians and researchers is developing clinical guidelines to support such assessments, encouraging curiosity and formulation rather than prescriptive diagnosis, with the goal of improving understanding, reducing misdiagnosis, and enhancing therapeutic outcomes for children in care. The guidelines advocate for flexible, trust-building approaches that integrate trauma and neurodivergence perspectives to better support young people's wellbeing and stability in care placements.