ADHD in the Interactional Context of Children's Cultures. A sociocultural critique of the individualizing gaze of the diagnosis

Abstract

Abstract This sociocultural study investigates whether aspects of the disruptive classroom behaviour of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-diagnosed students can be viewed as a way of participating in students' communities in class. Over two years, the interplay among students in two ADHD-inclusive mainstream Danish classrooms was studied. Classroom observational research, diagnostic tools and school-based interventions usually frame the behaviour of ADHD-diagnosed students as individual, impulsive behaviour. However, by scrutinizing the interaction among peers in classrooms where this study was conducted, it became evident that they often create disturbances on purpose, and this seems to be an important way of creating fun and amusement, as well as marking oneself as part of the students' community. When scrutinizing diagnosed students' orientations towards other students during classroom disturbances, it can be seen that some of their behaviour is woven into these interactional patterns and is primarily directed towards peers as communication and identity work. This could have important consequences for didactics, as well as research on ADHD-inclusive classrooms. Problematic conceptions of agency associated with the diagnosis are discussed.