A German study finds that there is a connection between ADHD and the likelihood that a child will have a wetting accident. This is one of very few studies that points out what many parents of children who have ADHD have been suspecting.
Some of the symptoms of ADHD involve difficulty with paying attention, and a tendency to have low impulse control. Parents of children who have ADHD have probably noticed that these are two factors that make it difficult to successfully potty train a child. It also makes sense that kids who are easily distracted, and who have problems controlling their impulses, would have more “accidents” than is typical for a child that has been potty trained.
A German study lead by Dr. Alexander von Gontard at Saarland University Hospital in Homburg, Germany, shows a link between ADHD and wetting accidents. The study was done by giving surveys to the parents of more than 1,300 kids.
All the kids involved in the study were between 5 and 7 years of age. The researchers knew that around 2 or 3 out of every 100 kids who were seven years old have daytime wetting accidents. Around one out of every ten children in the United States have been diagnosed with ADHD. I’ve no idea what the percentage would be with German children.
The study found that 49% of the children in the study wet themselves during the day. Out of that group, 18 of the kids had symptoms of ADHD. This equates to almost 37% of the group. About 3% of the kids, when tested, screened positive for having ADHD.
ADHD is connected to a delay in the maturation of the brain. The researchers concluded that this delay could affect a child’s ability to have good control over going to the bathroom. Another factor has to do with the problems kids with ADHD face with paying attention. Kids who are playing, or watching TV, or doing multiple activities might feel the need to urinate, but end up ignoring it for too long. This often results in a wetting accident.
The researchers also found a reverse connection. Kids who tend to experience wetting accidents are four times more likely than their peers are to have ADHD. It is unknown if one “causes” the other, but there definitely is a connection between the two.
Overall, this means that parents of kids who have ADHD are going to have to be more patient with their children when it comes to accidents. The child is not having accidents “on purpose”. It seems that some of the side effects of ADHD include an inability to consistently make it to the bathroom when the child needs to do so.
Image by KellyK on Flickr