Household task participation of children with and without attentional problems

Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often demonstrate problems in their participation in family occupations, such as household tasks, due to their needs for assistance and their behavior. Because participation in household tasks is part of family life and may be one way that families prepare children for adult roles, it is important to have a better understanding of the nature and extent of these difficulties. Forty-four parents of children in grades three through five (22 who had a child with ADHD and 22 whose child had no disabilities) completed the Children Helping Out: Responsibilities, Expectations, and Supports (CHORES) measure to provide quantitative and qualitative information about their child's participation in household tasks. Children with ADHD did not differ significantly from the comparison group in their frequency of participating in household tasks. Children with ADHD, however, required significantly more assistance with the tasks than did the comparison group. The results have implications for family occupations and children's occupational development.