ESS PRESIDENTIAL-ADDRESS, 1995 - INVISIBLE DIFFERENCES - ON THE MANAGEMENT OF CHILDREN IN POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETY

Drawing on data gathered through qualitative techniques, I suggest tha t the management of problems faced by children with a specific invisib le neurological difference attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder te aches us about problematic areas of postindustrial society. I pay part icular attention to how members of the children's and parents' separat e moral universes assign stigma and to such behavioral-management tech niques as patterned scheduling and ''super-momming,'' The problematic areas of contemporary life that I identify include the call for social conformity in the face of an ostensible demand for flexible social ar rangements.