Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is
one of the most common developmental disorders, with an
average of 9 per cent of children between the ages of
five and seventeen diagnosed per year in the USA. It is
also one of the most controversial. Since the 1950s,
when hyperactivity in children was first diagnosed,
psychiatrists, educators, parents and politicians have
debated the causes, treatment and implications of the
disorder. Hyperactive: The Controversial History of ADHD
is the first history of the disorder. Matthew Smith
highlights the limitations of regarding ADHD as simply
neurological, and contends that hyperactive children are
also a product of their social, cultural, political and
educational environment. Instead of simply accepting
conventional understandings of ADHD, this book addresses
the questions central to the emergence of the disorder:
Why were children first diagnosed with the disorder? Why
did biological explanations become predominant? Why did
powerful drugs become the preferred treatment? And why
have alternative explanations failed to achieve
legitimacy?By thinking through these issues Smith
demonstrates how knowledge of the disorder's history can
be used to empower those affected to make better choices
about diagnosis and treatment. As a historian with past
experience of working with troubled children and youth,
Matthew Smith offers a history that is not only
rigorous, but also accessible and highly relevant to
those working with and caring for those diagnosed with
ADHD. A revealing and clear-headed study of a
controversial and emotive subject, this is an essential
book for psychologists, teachers, policy makers and,
above all, parents. |
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