Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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Is a cultural shift behind some ADHD diagnoses?

(Additude Magazine) UPDATED 2009-06-03
One Canadian researcher says that a shift in the culture, not a shift in the disease, is responsible for the rising number of ADHD diagnoses. Matthew Smith, a medical history researcher, says that trying to identify ADHD symptoms in famous people from history--such as Einstein and Mozart--is misleading and ultimately bad for parents and children. Smith says that hyperactivity was not viewed as a medical condition until the late 1950's, when school environments and educational expectations changed and required young children to focus their attention on one task for hours at a time. Understanding this cultural shift is important for parents, Smith says, because it allows them to determine what ADHD treatment--if any--is right for their child.  Read full story >
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