Could there be some issue with the ways in which the ADHD children were
diagnosed? If in that school (presumably suburban middle class?) the
teachers had identified children as "probably ADHD" on the basis of
their "abnormal/agressive behavior" and thus those behaviors were over
represented?
My own work has not been with ADHD, so I really can't help you much with
references there, but certainly in the oral communities I study, the
high achievers could undoubtedly have been diagnosed ADHD had they been
forced to stay indoors doing "book" work for long periods each day. The
"good" kids in this rural agricultural community are high-energy,
low-focus boys who keep up with the animals. They don't do all that
well in my university classes....these are the back row boys... but they
are great salesmen and foremen after they graduate!
dale
Bill Barowy wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> A student wrote this request to me, and I'm passing it on, hoping that you
> might be able to help:
>
> "I was reading an article that was dealing with the sociometric status of ADHD
> boys. It suggested that children diagnosed with ADHD most often received a
> negative status from their peers, due to abnormal/aggressive behavior. This
> bothered me quite a bit because I view the sociometric status of these
> children in a completely different category. More often than not the ADHD
> children at [this school] are considered by their peers as highly popular. I
> believe there exists a cultural bias inherent to the study that asserted such
> a contradictory finding. I believe that at this school, a 99% minority
> inner-city school, the characteristic ADHD behavior is more reflective of the
> norm and therefore is less rejected, perhaps it is considered an attribute
> rather than a deficit in the eyes of "normal" peers. Just some sketchy
> thoughts. Where could I go from here? I think I would like to combine
> socio-cultural influences on the academic success of ADHD students. [...] I
> would also like advice on which journals I should seek info from. I have only
> been able to find one article dealing with this issue; however, this is the
> article that I am refuting."
>
-- Dale Cyphert, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Management University of Northern Iowa 1227 W.27th Street Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0125 (319) 273-6150 dale.cyphert@uni.edu
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