Trouble in Traffic: Kids with ADHD Have Difficulty Crossing
Streets Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) have more trouble avoiding traffic when crossing streets
than other children, a new study suggests. Researchers from the
University of Alabama at Birmingham used a computer-generated
street intersection to see if 39 children, ages 7 to 10 with
ADHD crossed the street less safely than 39 ADHD-free kids.
Previous research has shown that children with ADHD have a
greater risk for general injuries, and adults with ADHD tend to
be riskier drivers. "We expected that the kids with ADHD maybe
weren't displaying the appropriate curbside behaviors," said
study co-author Despina Stavrinos, an assistant professor at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham Injury Control Research
Center. But children with ADHD looked both ways before crossing
the street, just like the control group. The difference was that
they opted to cross under more dangerous conditions. Close to
getting hit "We looked at,