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Dialogues@RU is published
annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume 4
Fall 2005
The Clockwork of Attention Deficit Disorder: Mechanisms in Illusion - Page 1
By Xiaolei Shi
In the novel A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess writes of a dystopian society that normalizes its citizens by depriving them of any criminal tendencies through medication and psychological coercion. For Burgess, the difference between normalization and pacification is purely syntactical, and the allegorical novel brings attention to the controlling and conditioning aspects of society. The central character is a fifteen-year-old named Alex, impulsive and hyperactive, with an unnerving violence and overall propensity for destruction, but with an equally passionate attachment to classical music. As the plot unravels, Alex remorselessly commits one horrific deed after another and is finally sent to a correctional facility, where he is treated with mind-altering drugs that relieve him of his violent tendencies, but at the same time deprive him of his response to music, leaving him numb, ineffectual, and suicidal. Burgess contends that the human condition is defined as an enduring balancing act between individual expression and the interests of society, and in particular, he questions the sacrifices that the individual must make in order to conform to social norms. Although Alex is an extreme form of social misfit, portrayed as noxious and appalling, Burgess raises important questions about social norms and the interests they serve, and issues a warning concerning the human costs of normalization, both for the individual and society itself. It is a warning that is relevant to the definition and treatment of the recently-prevalent form of social disability, Attention Deficit Disorder.
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder ( or ADHD and ADD; in this paper, ADD refers to both ) are, according to Thomas Armstrong in The Myth of the ADD Child , conditions "characterized by abnormal levels of hyperactivity in attentiveness and/ [or] impulsivity that generally show up before a child is 7 years old" (4). Such children come to the attention of a diagnosing authority because their behavior is disruptive, a "problem" for their families or their schools. ADD is, Armstrong states, believed to be "a neurologically based disorder, most probably of genetic origin" (4). In "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder," Margaret Stronk writes that currently there is no "definitive medical test for either ADD [or ADHD]" (1). Instead, a vague yet widely-accepted set of symptoms act as general guidelines to recognize the presence of ADD. According to these guidelines, it is estimated that "three to five percent of all children in the United States have ADD" (Strock). While "most cases are assumed to be inherited, a small percentage are thought to be caused by central nervous system damage in early childhood, which could be associated with general birth problems such as an umbilical cord wrapped around the neck, or malnutrition during pregnancy" (Strock). Since its establishment as a medical disorder, ADD has become increasingly controversial due to its vague definition and questionable treatment with low-strength stimulants such as Ritalin. However, ADD is not solely a medical issue; equally important are socioeconomic and cultural forces, the extent to which a medical disorder can be socially and culturally produced, and the effects of this production on individual human lives.
The unique, if not ironic, origins of ADD parallel its treatment. Beginning in 1937, Kathy Koch writes, "American physician Charles Bradley reported that the stimulant Benzedrine helped hyperactive children confined in a mental hospital become distinctly subdued in their emotional responses," which he concluded was "an improvement from the social viewpoint"(Koch 914). Bradley's conclusion is a testament to the influence of cultural mores in the field of medicine. It is important to acknowledge the "dominant" cultural mechanism at work during the time when Bradley made his assertion, since, as Swain, et al. note, they "reflect the interest of those within particular social groups or societies who have the power to define situations and the resources with which to ensure that their own definitions are accepted as true" (1). Bradley made his assertion in the late 1930's during the industrial mobilization for war against the Axis powers . This mobilization eventually provided the impetus that pulled the nation out of the Great Depression. The growth of heavy industries relied on "able-bodied" citizens and hence culturally exaggerated their importance in society. Lasting artifacts of the era such as "Rosie the Riveter" posters testify not only to the burgeoning feminist movement, but also to the unrelenting "ableist" attitudes of the time.