Abstract
The present research focuses on the functional and dysfunctional consequences of the use of the diagnostic label “Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder” (ADHD) in an educational context. Assuming a social constructionist framework, a thematic content analysis of the narrative data produced by interviews with education staff in a communal school in Linkoping (Sweden) revealed how children’s behavior become more reasonable through the diagnostic label and how the diagnosis has the power to reassure education professionals regarding their competences. Also, participants’ accounts revealed a contradiction between the typical ADHD-child, generalized and stereotypic, and the declared uniqueness of each child. Finally, referring to a psychiatric diagnosis in an educational domain showed an unwanted consequence of stigmatization. Although participants declare to be aware of the stigmatizing power of dealing with ADHD as a disease, their use of the diagnostic label indirectly reinforce the stigmatized content of the generalized difference between children who are diagnosed as ADHD and children who are not.
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Tassinari Rogalin, M., Nencini, A. Consequences of the “Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder” (ADHD) Diagnosis. An Investigation with Education Professionals. Psychol Stud 60, 41–49 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-014-0288-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-014-0288-0