Many doctors, authors and educators say that hyperactivity has always existed. But Smith believes that this perspective is incorrect. The truth, he argues, is that prior to the 1950s, hyperactivity was "clinically and culturally insignificant."
Smith made this argument during the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Ottawa, Canada:
Smith says that whether you consider hyperactivity a disease worth treating often depends on context and the context changed in the 1950s when the U.S. refocused its education system in response to the space race ...By understanding the short history of ADHD, Smith contends, parents and children are better equipped to ask questions and ensure proper treatment, if any is needed.
"We need to refocus the history of hyperactivity on the period starting from the late 1950s and 60s," he said. "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." (Source: Canadian Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences)
Labels: research, Attention_Deficit_Hyperactivity_Disorder, history
Posted By: Aspen/CRC
