Attention Deficit Disorder

Paper Summary:

This paper traces the development of research on ADD and its treatment throughout the twentieth century. The paper shows how ADD has moved from being perceived as a moral disorder, to a neurological deficit, to a multinodal problem that can be dealt with through an equally holistic approach. The paper asserts that along with the expansion of studies into ADD and its attendant symptoms, social and academic problems, is an increased political awareness of the need for patient representation and advocacy, and for political and organization support for family and friends.

From the Paper:

"The first serious scientific attention to be paid to what has come to be known as ADD is generally attributed to two researchers, George Still (1902) and Alfred Tredgold (1908). In 1902, Still published three lectures to the Royal College of Physicians in which he discussed his clinical observations of 43 children who presented an extraordinary level of aggressions and defiance coupled with a resistance to traditional methods of discipline. These children, he explained, were also excessively emotional and exhibited little, if any of the self-control that was considered at that time a key to understanding development and moral behavior. Other characteristic symptoms included a tendency toward intolerance to punishment (even corporeal), dishonesty, and what he classified as an overall "lawlessness.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barkley, R.A. (1998). Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis andTreatment. 2nd ed. New York: Guildford.
• Braswell, L., & M.L. Bloomquist (1991). Cognitive-Behaviorial Therapy with ADHD Children:Child, Family, and School Interventions. New York: Guildford.
• Conrad, P. (1975). "The discovery of hyperkinesis: Notes on the medicalization of deviantbehavior." Social Problems, 23: 12-21.
• Quitkin, F, & D.F. Klein. (1975). "Two behavioral syndroms in young adults related to possibleminimal brain dysfunction." Journal of Psychiatric Research, 7: 131-42.
• Ross, D.M., & and S.A. Ross. (1982). Hyperactivity: Research, Theory, and Action. New York:Wiley.

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