From hyperactive children to ADHD adults: Observations on the expansion ofmedical categories

Medicalization is, by definition. about the extension of medical boundaries . Analogous to "domain expansion, " extant medicalized categories can expan d to become broader and more inclusive. This payer examples the emergence o f Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults. ADHD, commonly known as Hyperactivity, became established in the 1970s its a diagnosis fo r children: it expanded first to include "adult hyperactives " and, in the 1990s, "ADHD Adults. " This allowed for the inclusion of an entire populati on of people and their problems that were excluded by the original concepti on of hyperactive children. We show how lay. professional. and media claims help establish the expanded diagnostic category. We identify particular as pects of the serial context that contributed to the rise of adult ADHD and outline some of the the social implications of ADHD in adults, especially t he medicalization of under performance and the availability of new disabili ty rights. Adult ADHD serves as an exemplar of several cases of diagnostic expansion, an important avenue of increasing medicalization.