History of hyperactivity off-base, says researcherMay 28, 2009Educators do children and parents a disservice by claiming Mozart and others had ADHD A Canadian researcher working in the U.K. says doctors, authors and educators are doing hyperactive children a disservice by claiming that hyperactivity as we understand it today has always existed. Matthew Smith says not only is that notion wrong, it misleads patients, their parents and their physicians. Smith, who is from Edmonton, is finishing up his PhD at the Centre for Medical History at the University of Exeter. Hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is currently the most commonly diagnosed childhood psychiatric disorder, says Smith, and millions of children are prescribed drugs such as Ritalin to treat it. Yet prior to the 1950s, it was clinically and culturally insignificant. He argues in a paper presented at the Congress for the Humanities and Social Sciences taking place at Ottawa's Carleton University this week, that hyperactivity disorder as we understand it today is a modern construct that was first described as a disorder in 1957. Before that, Smith says hyperactive behaviour existed - but it wasn't always thought of as a disorder or pathology worth treating. However, Smith says many today assert that hyperactivity is a universal phenomenon, and say evidence of hyperactivity can be seen in historical figures such as Mozart or Einstein. Smith argues that hyperactivity as we understand it is rooted in social, cultural, political and economic changes of the last half century. "When history is extended back beyond 1957, it overlooks all the social factors that contributed to the idea that children were hyperactive - and that that was a problem," he says. "We need to refocus the history of hyperactivity on the period starting from the late 1950s and 60s. "By doing so, we start to understand why people started to think there was a problem with children, why they thought that problem needed to be fixed, and why it became acceptable to fix that problem with drugs." Smith says that whether you consider hyperactivity a disease worth treating often depends on context - and the context changed in the late 1950s when the U.S. refocused its education system in response to the space race. "If a child's playing soccer, there's a chance hyperactivity isn't going to be a problem. But if they are stuck in a classroom, it is a problem. "We have to look at the social and historical factors that created the idea that children were distractible and that these were pathologies that needed to be treated. "For patients and their parents, what this means is that the process by which their children are diagnosed is not rooted in a long history. If they understand that, they can develop the tools to question the diagnosis." Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Hyperactivity Current Events and Hyperactivity News Articles Clinical tests begin on medication to correct Fragile X defect NIH-supported scientists at Seaside Therapeutics in Cambridge, Mass., are beginning a clinical trial of a potential medication designed to correct a central neurochemical defect underlying Fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability. Eating liquorice in pregnancy may affect a child's IQ and behavior Expectant mothers who eat excessive quantities of liquorice during pregnancy could adversely affect their child's intelligence and behaviour, a study has shown. Poor sleep in children may have prenatal origins A study in the Aug.1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that alcohol consumption during pregnancy and small body size at birth predict poorer sleep and higher risk of sleep disturbances in 8-year-old children born at term. K-State researchers study how children view and treat their peers with undesirable characteristics A study by Kansas State University researchers is looking at how children perceive and interact with peers who have various undesirable characteristics, such as being overweight or aggressive. Researchers Develop "Brain-Reading" Methods To Uncover A Person's Mental State It is widely known that the brain perceives information before it reaches a person's awareness. But until now, there was little way to determine what specific mental tasks were taking place prior to the point of conscious awareness. Vyvanse CII significantly improved ADHD symptoms for children 13 hours after administration Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that a study published online in the peer-reviewed journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health found once-daily Vyvanse® (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) CII significantly reduced the symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 to 12 from the first time point measured (1.5 hours) up to the last time point assessed (13 hours) after administration. New map of genomic variations will enable disease research Genetics researchers have unveiled a powerful new resource for scientists and health providers studying human illnesses--a reference standard of deletions and duplications of DNA found in the human genome. Irritability should be considered when diagnosing bipolar disorder in children A new study from Bradley Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, as well as two other institutions, adds to mounting evidence that clinicians consider irritability as a symptom when diagnosing pediatric bipolar disorder. ADHD genes found, known to play roles in neurodevelopment Pediatric researchers have identified hundreds of gene variations that occur more frequently in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than in children without ADHD. Could hormones explain gender differences in neurological disease? Neurological diseases including Parkinson's, Tourette's, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Alzheimer's, and schizophrenia are all associated with alterations in dopamine-driven function involving the dopamine transporter (DAT). More Hyperactivity Current Events and Hyperactivity News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||