“I’d Rather Be Normal”: Living “With” Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Stigma in the Context of Compulsory Schooling

• In Event: Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Disrupting Notions of “Normal”: Addressing the Needs of Students With Perceived Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of the study is aligned with the challenge of the future education research expressed in the description of AERA’s annual meeting theme, that is, “to critically examine and evaluate what has changed, what is changing, and what will likely change the educational futures of all students of all ages, particularly those with limited social and economic resources.” To be precise, the study takes critically stand on the educational obligation of the compulsory school institution not only to teach pupils how to learn but to do one’s part in raising them as self-approving individuals. This is qualitatively studied in Finnish primary school setting through the narratives of pupils diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder concerning their school experiences.

Authors

• Juho Honkasilta, University of Jyväskylä

• Tanja Vehkakoski, University of Jyväskylä