Do we understand children's restlessness? Constructing ecologically valid understandings through reflexive cooperation

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most widely used children's mental health diagnosis today, but the validity of the diagnosis is controversial, for instance, because it might conceal relational and ecological dimensions of restlessness. We invited parents and professionals from one local community in western Norway to participate in cooperative group discussions on how to conceptualize and understand children's restlessness. We carried out a thematic and reflexive analysis of the cooperative group discussions on ADHD and children's restlessness, and present findings related to three ecological levels inspired by Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model. At the level of the individual, restlessness was discussed as individual trait, as the expectation to be seen and heard, and as a result of traumatization. At the level of dyad, group or family, restlessness was discussed as a relational phenomenon and as parents' problems. At the level of community, restlessness was discussed as lack of cooperation and lack of structures or resources. Our findings show how contextualized and cooperative reflexivity can contribute to more valid understandings of children's restlessness, and how cooperative inquiry can stimulate reflections about solidarity and sustainability in relation to adult's actions.

A discursive analysis concerning information on “ADHD” presented to parents by the National Institute of Mental Health (USA)

“…There are good reasons to inquire whether a child who is perceived as inattentive and/or hyperactive in preschool should be assessed with respect to “ADHD,” or whether the organization of the preschool should be the object of assessment. For example, Helle-Valle et al ( 2015 ) reveal that professionals working with preschool children report that inattentiveness and hyperactivity might be the children's response to a lack of structures and resources. Contributing and interacting factors involved in children's perceived misbehavior could, for example, be studied from the perspectives of two well-known theories; Bronfenbrenner's ecological model of development and attachment theory.…”

“…Although the process of medicalization is powerful, partly due to the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on public opinion (Antonuccio & Danton, 2003 ; Mitchell & Read, 2011 ), professionals as well as parents might be reluctant toward medication as well as to viewing their children's difficulties as symptoms of a disorder (Helle-Valle, Binder, & Stige, 2015 ). Parents also tend to be concerned with the educational context their children are part of, and might stress that the child's difficulties tend to arise in school situations (Rafalovich, 2004 ).…”

Mattering through Music: A Community Psychology Study of the Ripple Effects of Music Therapy in Preschool

“…En del av disse studiene har et individorientert perspektiv på musikkterapi. Andre tar for seg et mer økologisk perspektiv, hvor deltakelse, ressurser og kontekst er viktige faktorer (Helle-Valle et al, 2015;Rickson, 2008;Smith & Hairston, 1999;Twyford & Rickson, 2013;Wetherick, 2009). Vi fant også masteroppgaver og doktorgradsavhandlinger (Høydal, 2021;Johansson, 2009).…”

“…Annerledeshet kan bli møtt som et problem eller som en mulighet. Musikkterapi kan her gi mulighet for deltakelse og samspill (Helle-Valle et al, 2015). Barna kunne tilføre verdi til fellesskapet gjennom musikk, samtidig som det samme fellesskapet gir barna en opplevelse av å ha verdi.…”

Polyphonic perspectives: a focus group study of interprofessional staff’s perceptions of music therapy at an inpatient unit for children in mental health care

“…There has been a large amount of research on music therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder, as the recently published Cochrane review shows (Geretsegger et al, 2022 ). Other topics of research in this field are music therapy for children with anxiety (Goldbeck & Ellerkamp, 2012 ), for children and youth with social challenges (Gooding, 2010 ), for children in relation to ADHD and restlessness (Helle-Valle et al, 2015 , 2017 ; Jackson, 2003 ), music therapy as part of the assessment process (Jacobsen, 2012 ; Layman et al, 2002 ; Loewy, 2000 ), self-esteem and music therapy (Kirkerud, 2016 ), music therapy and traumatic loss (Hakomäki, 2012 ), active versus passive music therapy (Montello & Coons, 1998 ), as well as emotional regulation and interactions in music (Johns, 2018 ; Sannes, 2012 ; Uhlig et al, 2016 ).…”