Medical factors in hyperactive and normal children: prenatal, developmental, and health history findings.

Guided by the goal of documenting the natural course of the life histories of a large sample of hyperactive children and their control counterparts, this research reports the extent to which prenatal, developmental, and health history factors distinguish hyperactive and control groups, as well as the relative contributions of the various medical factors. Results indicate that prenatal factors, rather than those occurring later in the child's medical history, are the best predictors of subsequent hyperactive diagnosis.