http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html
The above link redirects to the CDC's (center for disease control) webpage with statistics on ADHD. The two statistics that jump out most to me are that "Boys (13.2%) were more likely than girls (5.6%) to have ever been diagnosed with ADHD" and " boys are 2.8 times more likely to take medication than girls". These statistics are scary because an alarmingly high number of boys are being diagnosed with this disease and most of them are being put on medication. While ADHD medication helps people focus, like most medicines designed to improve a persons cognitive abilities there are reports of patients feeling less than normal while on the drug. While ADHD medication is truly helpful to most, there is a segment of the ADHD population that have decided that the negative effects of the drug outweighed the positive and have chosen not to use it. So given the seriousness of the drug, shouldn't we examine why so many boys are prescribed it? For me I believe this is a case of traditional gender roles creating a problem that is then exacerbated in our school system.
We typically treat boys with a sense of caution. That is, we as a society don't trust men and whats a boy but a little man. Male children are not coddled so much as they are watched over. Due to the boys will be boys mentality we generally assume that boys spend most of their day trying to get into mischief. As a result parents take a much more controlling and discipline approach with male children than they do female children. Also, boys are taught very early on the importance of strength and defiance while female children are taught the importance of submission and consensus. Also I am of the opinion that due to their biological make up (boys have testosterone) boys are at the very least more likely to be naturally aggressive than females. So you have an individual who is more likely to be aggressive, brought up with strict discipline, and taught that to achieve importance he must be strong and defiant. We then send this individual off to school. However, suddenly the individual is no longer in a disciplined environment, and they are no longer being watched over constantly, they are just another face in the crowd. For many boys the school classroom is their first real taste of freedom. However, unlike girls who we train to be part of a collective whole and mind their place, a boys upbringing classes with this much freedom. Boys are not taught to behave in this much space. Once you factor in that new age teaching methods typically focus on nurturing the child, and that boys now have an audience of other boys who they must now show dominance over it is easy to see why so many boys are labeled as having behavioral problems and put on ADHD medications. For some they simply cannot deal with the lack of complete and total attention they are used to receiving. For others, their disobedience is seen as an exercise of their masculine identity. However, simply because you are acting out does not mean that your are medically unable to pay attention.
Let be clear in saying that I believe ADHD is real. I believe that for many who suffer from it medication is perfectly acceptable and truly a blessing. However, I also find it troubling that so many boys are diagnosed and put on medication. For me, this is a result of how we raise boys and the inability of that raising to fit within the structure and order of school. Just because your hyper doesn't mean you can't pay attention.
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