There was a time when behaviour at school was very black and white. Kids were either good, or bad. Of course, that’s a very simplistic view and actions were always more nuanced, although, unless the teacher really couldn’t handle the class  (I recall a nervous teacher who stood helpless at the front of the unruly mob, bewildered as he stood like an undefended target cowering under a barrage of  pencil rubbers, broken chalk,  pen tops and screwed up paper randomly projected towards him ) discipline was always immediate and often administered in a semi-violent fashion. Slippered by pumps, slaps around the back of the head, and several thrashes of the cane was not uncommon.

Little was understood about individual conduct being the effect of a cause, indirect experiences both at school, and on a more personal level, outside of the educational environment.  Sociological, physical, cultural and mental health conditions were never considered, at least not to the extent they are today, and the outcome was that the unfortunate child, who didn’t readily fit into the schools structure and ethos, was nonchalantly transferred to  a special school to become someone’s else’s responsibility.

I remember a couple of individuals who, relatively and regularly, caused havoc. Often the class clown too, students laughing profusely which of course only served to incite the perpetrator. One would assume, or indeed hope, that discussions were held to consider any range of relevant solutions, but they probably related to the end result rather than the reasons for such actions. Defined as troublesome with extremely poor conduct (indeed, my school had a ‘conduct sheet’ for those pupils identified and reported as misbehaving), it may have been tolerated but only to a to minimum of acceptance, and eventually the pupil was expelled.

Today, learning difficulties, problems, neurodivergent limitations will certainly be measured, steps taken to try and resolve the situation without such draconian punishments  (however justified they seemed to be at the time).  Perhaps these outcomes are not always successful, and not a guarantee of, and for, inclusion, although in reality that should be the aim, and the genuine objective is to rationalise and give credence to mitigating factors.

But here is the rhetorical question; as a neurodivergent entity, is ADHD a modern phenomenon, (in which case those kids from ‘years back’ were  simplistically demonstrating dysfunctional characteristics) or was such a personality type just not comprehensively recognised in the past?

Without straying into a deep medical explanation of the workings of the brain or conducting theoretical research, my gut reaction suggests the latter. In fact, it is medically recognised that some biological conditions of ADHD can include a smaller amygdala (emotional hub of the brain), harmful/disadvantageous levels of dopamine and cortisol, and the damaging impacts of specific foods on the workings of the body. Therefore, not just a convenient label to justify one’s unique personality traits, more of a sense that it is a condition that, as individuals, we have little control over. The ancient Greek father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, recoded in 493 BC that some of his patients had ‘quickened responses to sensory experience, less tenaciousness, and the ‘soul’ moving on to the next impression’. Not then, simply a particular feature of modern society.

And yet, it still seems to be  particularly prevalent, so perhaps the change is nothing more than a fundamental awareness, knowledge, and an altruistic force trying to give the best start to all and create a world in which those impacted by ADHD can find a way through those challenging situations. However, one final thought to consider – the influence of social media and technology.

I look back at old photos of me as a baby, a visual image of an infant well over 1 year old and still wrapped up in a pram, hidden from the world, early caregiving days that were nothing more than the requirements for survival. Thankfully, there was love too, although to a greater extent exposure and closeness to my mother  (with only a minimum of paternal association). Of course, gradually widened to the extended family, but in an overwhelming sense it was human personal involvement , my mind being allowed to form in a way that probably hadn’t changed much for 2000 years.

That natural growth has, during the past 50 years, partly been stooped in its tracks as our formative brains, from birth and throughout childhood (accepting that the teenage brain does not reach maturity until the middle 20’s) are now bombarded with signals, messages, sound bites, tablets mobiles, social media, that ultimately  intervene in that natural development. Perhaps, those brain neurons that need to form, educating and training that complex organ sitting inside our heads, the hub of our psyche coordinating the body’s nervous activity and defining our behaviours and that unique sense of who we are, is being influenced by unnatural triggers. In many cases those experiences are not real, but are ‘man-made’, and not what mother nature bestowed upon us. Is there any wonder that at times, the brain cannot cope.