Cold Comfort: Mothers, Professionals, and Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder PDF
Preview Cold Comfort: Mothers, Professionals, and Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder
COLD 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. This page intentionally left blank 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 This page intentionally left blank 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
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