Hyperactive by Maitrii Aung-Thwin
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is one of the most common developmental disorders, with an average of 9 per cent of US children between the ages of five and seventeen diagnosed each year. It is also one of the most controversial. Since the 1950s, when hyperactivity in children was first diagnosed, psychiatrists, educators, parents and politicians have debated the causes, treatment and implications of the disorder. Why and how were children first diagnosed with this disorder? Hyperactive provides the first history of ADHD, explaining why biological explanations became predominant; how powerful drugs became the preferred treatment; why diagnosis rates and treatments vary so widely around the world; and why alternative explanations have failed to achieve any legitimacy. Contending that hyperactive children are also a product of their social, cultural and educational environment, Matthew Smith demonstrates how knowledge about the rise of ADHD can lead to better choices about its diagnosis and treatment. A revealing and accessible study of this hugely controversial subject, Hyperactive is an essential book for psychologists, teachers, policymakers and parents.
'Matthew Smith persuasively demonstrates the historical contingency of our ideas about hyperactivityWell written, complex yet sharply argued, this book is a sorely needed corrective to today's therapeutic "common sense" and the ocean of pharmaceuticals it sanctions.' - -- David Herzberg, Associate Professor author of Happy Pills in America: From Miltown to Prozac 'As Matthew Smith demonstrates in this excellent study, there is arguably no more contentious childhood condition than hyperactivity or ADHD. Since the term was first introduced in the decades following the Second World War, hyperactivity has been variably explained in terms of genetic constitution, faulty parenting, an inability to cope with the pace and pressure of modern life, and increased sensitivity to food additives. Hyperactive explores debates about the biological, social and cultural contours of a condition that continues to puzzle doctors, frustrate teachers, and destroy families. It will surely be of value not only to historians of medicine, but also to the parents, teachers, psychiatrists and policy-makers involved in the daily struggle to cope with hyperactive children.' - -- Mark Jackson, Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Exeter
Matthew Smith is a Lecturer and Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde. He is a past winner of the Roy Porter Prize and the Pressman-Burroughs Wellcome Award, and was named a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker for 2012.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781780230313 |
| ISBN 10 | 1780230311 |
| Title | Hyperactive |
| Author | Maitrii Aung-Thwin |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Reaktion Books |
| Year published | 2012-08-01 |
| Number of pages | 208 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |