ABSTRACT
The social construction of hyperactivity is the creation of a medical definition of deviant behavior. This chapter presents an analysis of how children are diagnosed as hyperactive at the Hyperactivity-Learning Disabilities (HA-LD) clinic of Northeastern Pediatric Hospital Medical Center (NPH). It analyzes how a diagnosis of hyperactivity is made through the construction of medical meanings and the minimization of uncertainty, and presents brief discussion of the role of uncertainty in medicine in general. Although uncertainty is always a concern in medicine there are certain conditions that make it a particularly central issue in the evaluation for hyperactivity at the HA-LD clinic. These conditions include: the concept of hyperactivity; the state of the diagnostic art; the ambiguity of the evidence; the situation of the physicians; the role of medications; and myth and lore about hyperactivity. The chapter presents an analysis of the strategies used to minimize uncertainty, and discusses the ramifications of the research.
