Abstract
This article discusses the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), understanding that its clinical and social delimitation is guided by norms of conduct that configure the process of child socialization. It deals with issues emerging from two fieldwork projects carried out in a children's psychiatry outpatient clinic (the author's master's dissertation) and in Brazilian schools (doctoral thesis). Respectively, the first one was from 2009 to 2011 and the second from 2012 to 2016. The gender issue raised by the prevalence of the disorder is used to analyze some of these norms of social conduct, especially those related to the control of the body and emotions. Moreover, it is used to analyze the stigma suffered by diagnosed children to understand the legitimacy of specialized interventions as well as the production of identities. The aim is to explore the conjuncture of contemporary society, which articulates dominance over the body, the "mind" and the emotions to assign meaning to collective and individual conduct, beliefs and desires.
Keywords:
ADHD; Child Socialization; Stigma; Gender