Medicalization, Ambivalence and Social Control: Mothers’ Descriptions of Educators and ADD/ADHD

Abstract

Conrad notes that non-medical personnel often accomplish the routine, everyday work of medicalization. This is particularly so in the case of Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder, where teachers, special educators and school psychologists identify, assess and administer medication to 'problematic' children. Drawing on data from interviews with Canadian and British mothers of ADD/ADHD children, this article explores mothers' perceptions of educators' roles in medicalizing children who are different, comparing medicalization in two divergent sites. In Canada, where ADD/ADHD is a highly medicalized phenomenon, and teachers have few alternative forms of social control available to them in classrooms, it appears that educators are prepared to identify problem children and press for medical treatment with remarkable vigor. In Britain, where medicalization remains incomplete, and where teachers and special educators have more stringent alternative forms of social control available to them, educators were often described as gatekeepers who will refuse the label or to administer medication.

A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research: the influence of school context on symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…Number of studies by participant type is given in Table 1. Two studies were reported in multiple publications (Exley 2006(Exley , 2007(Exley , 2008Malacrida 2001Malacrida , 2004; when discussing information from these studies, only one journal article each (Exley 2008;Malacrida 2001) will be cited in order to signify the studies' singular nature.…”

Demographic trends in ADHD diagnosis in U.S. children using NHANES data between 2004 and 2012

“…Not only do studies commonly reference the contribution of the pharmaceutical industry to the increased effort toward diagnosis of disorders such as ADHD and subsequent treatment by prescription medication [4,13] but also one study by Brault and Lacourse references the increasing role of school professionals in medicalization as they hand misbehaving children to medical professionals [2,[18][19][20]. This could lead to a child's potential diagnosis and then subsequent acquisition of medication, providing evidence of the link between changing ADHD prevalence rates and prescribed medication prevalence rates.…”

Cultural Currents

“…48 ences can also lead to behaviors mimicking ADHD and can be particularly difficult to define in recent immigrants. 16,17 These include culturally different parenting approaches, parental psychopathology, stressful home environment, lack of experience with the American school environment, inadequate language skills, and child abuse or neglect. 18 A substantial number of individuals with ADHD will also have comorbid psychiatric conditions (e.g., depression, oppositional defiant disorder, learning disabilities).…”