ABSTRACT
The location of the participant observation and the source of the sample was the Hyperactivity-Learning Disabilities (HA-LD) clinic of Northeastern Pediatric Hospital Medical Center (NPH). The HA-LD clinic is part of the "medical diagnostic unit" of the outpatient department of NPH. The HA-LD clinic functions primarily out of the doctors' lounge and the small examining rooms along the right-hand side of the corridor. The sample was selected from children evaluated at the HA-LD clinic from February through May 1975. In describing the sample the author differentiate between recognizing a problem in the child and referring the child to the HA-LD clinic. The children referred to the HA-LD clinic have a variety of "outcomes." Hyperactive—either specifically labeled hyperactive, minimal brain dysfunction, minimal cerebral dysfunction, or primary attentional disorder, or given treatment with stimulant medications.
