Feral children

In his excellent and feeling editorial (September 2002 JRSM¹) Dr Chambers stresses the need to establish causes for ‘feral behaviour’ in children and mentions attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Treatment of this condition can be life-changing both to the patient and to his/her family and wider environment. Moreover, the behaviour patterns can persist into adult life. Some years ago I had a patient in his 50s with a history of violence persisting through childhood into adult life resulting in numerous prison sentences for grievous bodily harm. After treatment with methylphenidate he became socially tractable and reported a state of mental calm replacing the ‘Piccadilly Circus’ which had formally been his usual mental experience. Over the past 5 years I have seen numerous cases of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in adults that had been undiagnosed through childhood. I suspect that many offenders now in custody have this syndrome and that a vast social service could be performed by diagnosing and treating these individuals.