Narrative, moral and institutional effects of childhood ADHD: Listening to teachers and mothers of diagnosed children

Building on research on the critical role of laypeople in medicalization and the multi-dimensional character of this process, this study explores the effects and meanings of the ADHD category for mothers and teachers of diagnosed children. Based on interviews with 27 schoolteachers from two different schools and 42 mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD, we show that despite the growing acceptance of ADHD as a medical diagnosis, it exhibits only minor narrative, institutional, and moral effects in school and family arenas. The diagnostic label attributed to children does not resolve blame games and uncertainty about the source of children's difficulties and does not provide many pragmatic benefits for either mothers or teachers. We argue that these limited narrative, moral and institutional effects are shaped by the moral positionings available to mothers and teachers, the institutional status of ADHD as a category of disability, and educational policy. We distinguish medicalization's institutional and interpersonal dimensions and explore their complex interrelations. Our analysis resonates with recent moves in medical sociology toward more pragmatic and practice-based analyses of the effects of medical categories, particularly when enacted outside traditional healthcare settings.