The critical approach allows you to draw upon your own views or assumptions within the economy of health. This approach also focuses on biomedicine and how it was formed over time. In the West, biomedicine holds authority over all others. The authority of biomedicine comes from the belief that operates in the world of facts or truth (Tarim, Lecture 5.1). Biomedicine is made up of a system of dichotomies, which are culturally constructed. For example, the idea that male and female are separate and different is a common assumption in biomedicine. This is also true of ADHD. When people think of a child with ADHD, they think of someone who is bouncing off the walls, having hyperactivity, and the inability to focus. Some people might automatically correlate ADHD with poor grades. While this can be true in some people, it is not true of all people. Either you have ADHD and are hyper or you don’t and you are very serious.
ADHD is widely presented in popular American culture. There are many movies and cartoons that have a character that cannot focus on anything or acts like the dumb one. For example, in the picture of Lilo and Stitch to the left , Stitch cannot control his impulses and has a lot of energy. Our culture has stereotyped ADHD in a way that makes the character seem funny or is someone to laugh at. This is how our culture views ADHD.
ADHD was first mentioned in 1902. British pediatrician Sir George Still described "an abnormal defect of moral control in children." He found that some “mentally retarded” children could not control their behavior the way a typical child would. However, they were still intelligent (Healthline). In 1955, the FDA approved the drug Ritalin as ADHD was starting to become more understood. The name was then changed to Attention Deficient Disorder. When ADHD was first discovered, Sir George thought that the children were mentally retarded, but still intelligent, which shapes the way people view it today. Parents nowadays are giving their children medicine to help them “get better.” I believe that ADHD has been strongly biomedicalized in western culture. Like I just said, parents are going out of their way to get medicine so that their children can focus and perform better in school. Doctors are prescribing Adderall or Ritalin (picture below) to children in small amounts to help with this. The critical approach is very important and can give explain how many people view certain illnesses.
Sources:
"The History of ADHD: A Timeline." The History of ADHD: A Timeline. Accessed July 28, 2014.
"Lilo & Stitch Wallpaper: Lilo and Stitch Wallpaper." Lilo and Stitch Wallpaper. Accessed July 28, 2014.
"Methylphenidate." Wikipedia. August 13, 2014. Accessed July 28, 2014.
ADHD is widely presented in popular American culture. There are many movies and cartoons that have a character that cannot focus on anything or acts like the dumb one. For example, in the picture of Lilo and Stitch to the left , Stitch cannot control his impulses and has a lot of energy. Our culture has stereotyped ADHD in a way that makes the character seem funny or is someone to laugh at. This is how our culture views ADHD.
ADHD was first mentioned in 1902. British pediatrician Sir George Still described "an abnormal defect of moral control in children." He found that some “mentally retarded” children could not control their behavior the way a typical child would. However, they were still intelligent (Healthline). In 1955, the FDA approved the drug Ritalin as ADHD was starting to become more understood. The name was then changed to Attention Deficient Disorder. When ADHD was first discovered, Sir George thought that the children were mentally retarded, but still intelligent, which shapes the way people view it today. Parents nowadays are giving their children medicine to help them “get better.” I believe that ADHD has been strongly biomedicalized in western culture. Like I just said, parents are going out of their way to get medicine so that their children can focus and perform better in school. Doctors are prescribing Adderall or Ritalin (picture below) to children in small amounts to help with this. The critical approach is very important and can give explain how many people view certain illnesses.
Sources:
"The History of ADHD: A Timeline." The History of ADHD: A Timeline. Accessed July 28, 2014.
"Lilo & Stitch Wallpaper: Lilo and Stitch Wallpaper." Lilo and Stitch Wallpaper. Accessed July 28, 2014.
"Methylphenidate." Wikipedia. August 13, 2014. Accessed July 28, 2014.