Author: John Ferry
Schools are struggling with being under-resourced, using labor-intensive ‘modern’ educational methods in highly stimulating colorful classes, under pressure to demonstrate ever-improving academic achievement in their pupils, with ever less methods for behavioral control of children at their disposal. John, one of their distractible and boisterous children gets a diagnosis of ADHD and starts taking Ritalin. He is no longer a big problem; he does as he is told. The school has saved money, instead of having to provide extra input for his ‘special’ needs, the teachers realize that John had a medical disorder and now that it is being treated he is fine. John’s teacher realizes that John’s friend Paul seems to be similarly distractible and boisterous. She meets with Paul’s parents and tells them that she wonders if Paul too has this ADHD and advices them to see their general practitioner. Paul gets a diagnosis and stars taking Ritalin too. Soon other teachers have stared identifying children in their classes like John and Paul. A process has been set rolling. A year down the line John’s old pattern of behavior seems to be returning. Teachers agree that there could be many reasons for this but wonder if it could be due to the treatment for his medical condition (ADHD) not being adequate. The school writes a letter that John’s mum takes to his consultant and John’s doses of Ritalin is increased. Soon Paul’s does also goes up. Other teachers talk about this and become aware that some of the children in their class may not be getting adequate medication. Another process is set in motion. Meanwhile John’s consultant has attended a couple of drug company sponsored seminars, has been contacted by a drug company representative and has been given parent and teacher information booklets by this representative (which describes ADHD as being caused by an inherited chemical imbalance in the brain and has pretty pictures of nerve cell synapses to show exactly what is going on in ADHD brains). This literature now goes into local circulation and other parents start contacting their doctor expressing concern that their child may have ADHD. A local parents’ support group is set up and they join a national consumer pressure group. The local paper interviews the parents’ group who talk about ‘hidden disabilities’ and how for years they struggled but no one recognized the psychiatric problem their children had. By now ADHD is firmly established in local culture with economically and politically powerful groups (drug companies, doctors, teachers) having had a major, but often unacknowledged impact on local communities conception concerning the nature of childhood. A new category of childhood has emerged that is called the ADHD child.
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