title: Suffer the restless children: the evolution of ADHD and paediatric stimulant use, 1900-80.
abstract: This article traces the historical evolution of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the controversial use of stimulants as a treatment for children diagnosed with the disorder in North America. While the children in question have exhibited similar behaviour over the last century, the diagnostic labels used to identify them have changed due largely to cultural, medical and scientific changes and discoveries. For decades, children's treatment with psychotropic drugs was sufficiently controversial that pharmaceutical companies would not finance research in the area. The only substantial source of research funding for paediatric psychopharmacology in the USA from the 1950s to the 1970s was the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). In 1970, the first in a long-running series of controversies erupted over children's treatment with stimulants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Political Science, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173, USA. bmayes@richmond.edu
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mayes
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rafalovich
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000266:history*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000266:history* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000266:history* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011600:Psychopharmacology / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate