Table Of ContentCOLD COMFORT
Mothers, Professionals, and
Attention Deficit Disorder
Mothers of children with attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder must
inevitably make decisions regarding their children's diagnosis within a
context of competing discourses about the nature of the disorder and
the legitimacy of its treatment. They also make these decisions within
an overriding climate of mother-blame. Claudia Malacrida's Cold Comfort
provides a contextualized study of how mothers negotiate with/against
the 'helping professions' over assessment and treatment for their
children.
Malacrida counters current conceptions about mothers of ADD/
ADHD children (namely that mothers irresponsibly push for Ritalin to
manage their children's behaviour) as well as professional assumptions
of maternal pathology. This thought-provoking examination documents
Malacrida's extensive interviews with mothers of affected children in
both Canada and the United Kingdom, and details the way in which
these women speak of their experiences. Malacrida compares their
narratives to national discourses and practices, placing the complex
mother-child and mother-professional relations at the centre of her critical
inquiry.
Drawing on both poststructural discourse analysis and feminist
standpoint theory, Malacrida makes a critical contribution to qualitative
methodologies by developing a feminist discursive ethnography of the
construction of ADD/ADHD in two divergent cultures. On a more
personal level, she offers readers a moving, nuanced, and satisfying
examination of real women and children facing both public and private
challenges linked to ADD/ADHD.
CLAUDIA MALACRIDA is an assistant professor in the Department of
Sociology at the University of Lethbridge.
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COLD COMFORT
Mothers, Professionals, and
Attention Deficit Disorder
Claudia Malacrida
U N I V E R S I T Y O F T O R O N T O P R E S S
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
© University of Toronto Press Incorporated 2003
Toronto Buffalo London
Printed in Canada
ISBN 0-8020-8752-3 (cloth)
ISBN 0-8020-8558-X (paper)
Printed on acid-free paper
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Malacrida, Claudia, 1953-
Cold comfort: mothers, professionals, and attention deficit
disorder / Claudia Malacrida.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8020-8752-3 (bound) ISBN 0-8020-8558-X (pbk.)
1. Attention-deficit-disordered children. 2. Mother and child.
3. Mothers - Interviews. 4. Attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder - Diagnosis - Cross-cultural studies. 5. Attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder - Treatment - Cross-cultural studies.
I. Title.
RJ506.H9M34 2003 306.874'3 C2003-900681-6
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian
Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to
Scholary Publications Programme, using funds provided by the Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its
publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario
Arts Council.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support for its
publishing activities of the Government of Canada through the Book
Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP).
For Hilary
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Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IX
Prologue 3
1 Why Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder,
Why Mothers? 13
2 Methodology 44
3 British and Canadian Con(text)ual Spaces 65
4 Mothers Talk about the Early Years 103
5 Ideals and Actualities in Identification and Assessment 140
6 Challenges and Conflicts in Treating AD(H)D 181
7 Resistance, Risk, and the Chimera of Choice 215
Conclusion 243
Epilogue 253
APPENDIXES
1 ICD-10 (1993) Diagnostic Criteria for Research 259
2 DSMIV (1994) Criteria for AD(H)D 262
viii Contents
3 Brief Biographical Details of Participants 264
4 Interview Guide 274
5 List of Textual Materials Examined 277
6 Sample Parent Assessment Observation Checklists 278
REFERENCES 281
INDEX 295
Acknowledgments
Cold Comfort began as a doctoral dissertation, but earlier than that, it
had germinated during my own chilling experiences of dealing with
attention deficit disorder on behalf of my daughter Hilary. During my
years of research and the writing of the book, Hilary's life as a student
took a decided turn for the better when she entered Foothills Academy,
a Calgary school specifically geared towards providing education to
children with learning difficulties. I am more than grateful to the good
folks at Foothills, and for the care and excellence they brought to my
daughter's education.
During those years, my husband Carey provided emotional support
and intellectual challenges. As well, he took on sole care of our home
and family for protracted periods of my research and teaching time. I
am blessed. My good friend Anne Hughson, whose work in the disability
advocacy movement challenged me both personally and politically,
provided me with ample opportunities to thrash out the details, consider
the politics, and refuse the easy answers. Finally, a number of people in
Canada and the U.K. were helpful in bringing participants into the project
and in familiarizing me with aspects of AD(H)D in their local areas.
Thanks to Monica Alcide, Andrea Bilbow, Gordon Bullivant, Allan
Rimmer, and Gina Betteridge.
The academic community of the University of Alberta in Edmonton,
and particularly my supervisor, Ros Sydie, provided opportunities for
exploring and theorizing as the project developed. As well, Joane Martel
and Jerry Kachur provided excellent critiques of project, both before and
at its defence. Of course, my dear friend Arthur W. Frank of the University
of Calgary provided his ongoing wisdom and insight, understanding
the book's nuances in incisive ways. Finally, my thanks go to the three
