ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief overview of the history of hyperactivity, from the year in which it was first identified (1957) to the present day, focuses on three broad themes that underlie its history. In turn, any exploration of hyperactivity demands consideration of the broader features of American history if it is to have any meaning or substance. Cold War fears about scientific inferiority, combined with demographic pressures on the education system, therefore, meant that considerable attention was devoted to 'smoking out and stimulating the efforts of the under-achievers', whose hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsivity were believed to be hampering American technological and political ambitions.Hyperactivity emerged at the same time as many other psychiatric disorders. Psychiatrists came to believe that a large percentage of the American population, particularly children, was mentally ill. The history of hyperactivity, when focused in the right areas, can help in this process of empowerment.
