Table Of Contenthyperactive
HYPERACTIVE
THE CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY OF ADHD
Matthew Smith
reaktion books
To my mother, who always stuck up for me,
and to Dashiell, who bounced his way through
the writing of this book
Published by Reaktion Books Ltd
33 Great Sutton Street
London ec1v 0dx, uk
www.reaktionbooks.co.uk
First published 2012
Copyright © Matthew Smith 2012
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publishers.
Printed and bound in Great Britain
by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Smith, Matthew, 1973–
Hyperactive : the controversial history of ADHD
1. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder –History.
2. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder –Etiology.
3. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder –Treatment –History.
I. Title
618.9'28589–dc23
isbn: 978 1 78023 031 3
Contents
Preface 7
Introduction: Why the Hype? 12
one
Before Hyperactivity 23
two
The First Hyperactive Children 46
three
Debating Hyperactivity 75
four
Ritalin: Magic Bullet or Black Magic? 100
five
Alternative Approaches 127
six
Hyperactive Around the World 150
Conclusion: Happily Hyperactive? 177
references 186
select bibliography 233
acknowledgements 241
index 243
Preface
Historiansdonothavetohaveapersonalconnectiontowhatthey
research,butwhentheydo,itisappropriatethatitislaidbaretobe
examined.IfonepicksupasocialhistoryofBritain,itishelpfulto
knowiftheauthorhastiestoaparticularpoliticalparty.Ifoneis
readingahistoryofIsrael,theauthor’sopinionsaboutthebuilding
ofnewIsraelisettlementscouldbepertinent.Andifoneisreading
about the history of medicine, especially by a historian who is
interested in placing the history of health and medicine in its
cultural,socialandpoliticalcontexts,itisappropriatethatthecon-
textofmyowninvestigationsisrevealed.So,whyamIinterestedin
hyperactivity?
Iwasnotawareofsuchathinggrowingupandgoingtoschool
inthe1980s.Irememberproblemkids,andmighthaveevenbeen
oneonoccasion,butneverrecalledsuchboysorgirlsbeingreferred
toashyperactive,orbeinglabelledwithanyotherdisorder.Badkids
weresimplybadkids,atleastasfarasIwasconcerned.Attending
school during the years in which disabled children were being
includedinmainstreamclassrooms,Idorememberchildrenwho
we,andtheteachers,referredtoas‘retarded’,butnoneofthese
childrenseemedparticularlyhyperactive.Iknownowthatmanyof
thesechildrenhadeitherDown’sSyndrome,weresufferingfroma
braininjuryorwereseriouslylearningdisabled.Thereisalsoastory
toldinmyfamilyofmymotherbeingsatdownduringaparent-
teacherinterviewwhenIwasinkindergarten,andbeingtoldthatI
hadalearningdisabilityonthegroundsthatIcouldnotusescis-
sorsproperlyandhaddifficultiesstayinguprightonabalancebeam.
7
hyperactive
ThisdidnotgooverwellwithmymomandIbegangradeoneina
differentschool,wheremylearningdisability,so-called,remained
foreverhidden.
Instead,thefirsthyperactivekidImetknowingly,Imetasan
adult. He sticks out in my memory for many reasons, not least
becausewesharedafirstnameandhelookedalittlebitlikeIdidat
his age, which was about six or seven. I was a nervous student
teacheratamiddlingprimaryschool;hewasoneofmystudents.
And there was no question that he was an active little boy. If he
hadhisdruthers,IamconfidentthatMatthewwouldhavehappily
bouncedaroundtheclassroom,sharpeninghispencil,lookingout
thewindow,tryingonalltheotherkids’boots,investigatingwhat
was kept in the corner cupboard and generally doing his best
impression of a perpetual motion machine from the time of the
principal’swelcomingaddressonthepasystemtothedingingof
thehome-timebell.Itwasasifsittingathisdeskquietlywasana-
thematohim,anabhorrentconditiontobeavoidedatallcost.
Ihavetoadmitthat,whenIwasinchargeoftheclassroom,
Matthew’sescapadesdidnotannoymeagreatdeal.Hetendednot
tobothertheotherkidsterriblymuchand,whileroamingaround
theroomdidnothelphimcompletehiswork,neitherdidforcing
himtositinhisseat.SternlyorderingMatthewtoremainseatedat
hisdeskmerelygeneratedanimpressiveand,toallbutthesternest
pedagogue,amusingsetofcontortionsintheboyashefoundways
tobalancehischairononeofitslegs,whilekeepingonlytheindex
finger of one hand in contact with his desk. He could follow
instructions,itappeared,justhisowninterpretationofthem.But
whileIwascontenttolethimdohisthing,findingafewminutes
whenpossibletoworkwithhimindividually,itwasclearthatmy
supervisingteacherwasnot.Usuallyacalm,gentlewomanwho
wasslowtolosehertemper,seeingMatthewthestudentperform
balancingactsworthyofCirqueduSoleil,andMatthewthestudent
teacherturningablindeye,wouldcausehertocryout:‘Matthew,
what are you doing?!’ I was never sure which one of us she had
inmind.
AttheendofmytermIreturnedtotheuniversitytocompletethe
theoreticalcomponentofmyeducationdegree,andwasbemusedby
8
Description:Each year, doctors diagnose an average of nine percent of children between the ages of five and seventeen with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. One of the most common childhood disorders, it is also one of the most controversial—since first identified in the late 1950s, everyone
