From ABCs to ADHD: the role of schooling in the construction of behaviour disorder and production of disorderly objects

Graham, Linda J.

doi:10.1080/13603110701683311

Cited by 95Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderPsychology and Mental HealthBehavioral and Psychological Studies

From ABCs to ADHD: the role of schooling in the construction of behaviour disorder and production of disorderly objects

Graham, Linda J.·2008·International Journal of Inclusive Education

DOI 10.1080/13603110701683311

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Abstract

Discussion of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the media, and thus much popular discourse, typically revolves around the possible causes of disruptive behaviour and the ‘behaviourally disordered’ child. The usual suspects—too much television and video games, food additives, bad parenting, a lack of discipline, and single mothers—feature prominently as potential contributors to the spiralling rate of ADHD diagnosis in Western industrialized nations, especially the USA and Australia. Conspicuously absent from the field of investigation, however, is the scene of schooling and the influence that the discourses and practices of schooling might bring to bear upon the constitution of ‘disorderly behaviour’ and subsequent recognition of particular children as a particular kind of ‘disorderly’. This paper reviews a sample of the literature surrounding ADHD in order to question the function of this absence and, ultimately, make an argument for an interrogation of the school as a site for the production of disorderly objects.

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There is little attention in the sociological literature on ADHD to ADHD as a lived experience in local contexts, or to how interactions between individual biology and environmental inputs shape symptomatic behaviors and intervention success.
“There is little attention to ADHD as a lived experience in local contexts, or consideration of how interactions between individual biology and particular environmental inputs might give shape and meaning to symptomatic behaviors, and to the success of interventions.”
From A disorder of anger and aggression: Children’s perspectives on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the UK (2011) · cites this paper as Graham, 2008

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Authors: Graham, L. J.
Affiliations: The University of Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author: Graham, Linda J.
ORCID: Graham, Linda J.
Venue: International Journal of Inclusive Education
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Published: 2008-01
Volume: 12
Issue: 1
Pages: 7-33
ISSN: 1360-3116 (ISSN-L)
1464-5173
DOI: 10.1080/13603110701683311
OpenAlex: W2158636474
Cited by: 95
References: 85
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 4
FWCI: 3.98
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: International Journal of Inclusive Education (publishedVersion)
Topics: Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, school education, behaviour disorders, disruptive behavior, diagnosis, media discourse, social construction of disorder

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From ABCs to ADHD: the role of schooling in the construction of behaviour disorder and production of disorderly objects

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