Dictating the boundaries of ab/normality: a critical discourse analysis of the diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and hyperkinetic disorder
Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: In this article we report the findings of a critical discourse analysis of the diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and hyperkinetic disorder (HD) in two clinical manuals – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition and International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition. We examine the actions (behaviors) that are said to indicate the presence of ADHD/HD and analyze what the inclusion of these actions reveals about the relationship between ADHD/HD, cultural knowledge, and values. Our analysis reveals that both manuals use subjective, value-laden language to construct a mentally ill individual in opposition to an unseen, supposedly ‘normal’ person. We argue that the current criteria draw into question whether ADHD/HD meets the manuals’ own definitions of a disorder, and further that the discourse of the manuals is intertwined with the everyday practices of schools and serve to legitimize status quo educational practices.
Source: Disability & Society
Authors: Justin E. Freedman, Juho M. Honkasilta
Institutions: Syracuse University, University of Jyväskylä
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2597340429