Medication To Treat ADHD Simi Linton in Reassigning Meaning defines Disability as, “ A physical or psychological condition considered to have predominantly medical significance” (Linton, 282). In Harlan Lane’s article, he writes about people who are deaf and how they now have the option to undergo surgery to have cochlear implants. These implants are electronic devices that stimulate the auditory nerve directly, and provide a sense of sound to one who is deaf or hard of hearing. However, Lane expresses a feeling of disapproval in regards to the cochlear implant. Lane feels as though if a child were to receive the implants, they would lose fundamental value in the deaf community“(Lane, 264). Also, succeeding in the hearing community would be a struggle, resulting in personal/social identity insecurities. However, if someone has an opportunity to improve such an essential sense as hearing, they should most certainly take advantage of it. Treatment for the learning disability ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is an exceptional example because the medication only lasts for a short period of time, and also makes the person taking it, feel and appear different. This treatment can lead to nearly different personalities when someone does or does not take the medication, which often time can lead to personal/social identity issues and other insecurities. ADHD testing involves assessing one’s strengths and weakness’ in school functioning. Many children display symptoms of ADHD and are never tested because many parents believe their children are just young, energetic, and just get bored in school. This may be true in some cases, but some children should be tested for their own benefit. Pratt points out that if a child has a noticeable inconsistency “between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the following areas: oral or written expression of language, listening, comprehension, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, and/or mathematics reasoning” (Pratt, 153), that child is very likely to have a learning disability. Testing for learning disabilities is something all parents should consider for their children at a young age. All parents want to see their child excel in school and in life. However, if their child is disabled and not diagnosed, their child will stumble their way through school, quickly fall behind and even find that their child is struggling to stay concentrated on the task at hand.
ADHD leaves many people of all ages finding that they are struggling to pay attention, and also appear abnormally hyper in terms of behavior. Brock defines ADHD: “Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is the diagnostic category used to describe individuals with clinically significant problems with inattention and/or hyperactivity and or impulsivity” (Brock, 1). Teachers and parents are usually the ones who notice an abnormality in a child’s behavioral patterns. ADHD can lead to constantly being distracted by miniscule things, and also acting out inappropriately; “For example, hyperactivity may make it difficult to sit still and complete performance oriented/timed tasks, impulsivity may adversely affect tasks that require the consideration of several different response items, and inattention may interfere with the ability to remain focused on a test for an extended period of time” (Brock, 79). Not only do the hyperactive impulses ADHD produces lead to misbehaving in class, but it also puts a child at a disadvantage when it comes to learning, because that child simply cannot stay focused.
Some medications make children feel isolated from everything around them, almost as if they are aliens and do not belong, and other medications won’t allow them to sleep at night. Once a child finds a medication that works for him, he will find himself getting better grades, being able to pay better attention, and getting in less trouble in terms of behavior. With the use of this ADHD medication, he will clearly notice a change that will help him in the long run. Succeeding in the classrooms and being able to pay better attention to his surroundings will ultimately change his life for the better. However, this medicine does not fix this disability. It is a temporary drug that will assist him when necessary. Therefore, some of a child’s hyperactivity and impulses that make up his individuality and uniqueness when he is not medicated, will allow him to still be himself and display the characteristics that make up his actual personality.
When treating for ADHD, certain aspects have to be taken into consideration and thought about carefully. For example, some medications for ADHD have side effects such as psychosis, elevated irritability, and elevated energy levels. Many children are tested and diagnosed with ADHD, try various medications, and struggled to find one that work for them. Prior to finding the right medication or even being diagnosed, teachers make these students sit in the front of every class and double check to make sure they are facing forward, which according to Brock “is usually better than open-plan designs for students with ADHD” (Brock, 97). Sitting in the front of the class and having the teacher constantly checking up on such a student can be very helpful in many ways, such as staying on task, making sure the student does not engage in any side conversations, and also preventing undisciplined or wild behavior. With the help of ADHD medications, these disabled students are able to stay on task, behave, and get their work done with limited distractions. Not only do these medications help the disabled students, but it also allows the teachers to be able to successfully teach a lesson without occasionally stopping to yell at such students. Therefore, it allows the rest of the children in class to ultimately stay focused and not get distracted each time the teacher has to address a behavioral issue.
To many unaware and judgmental people, disabilities are seen as a deficit. According to Lane, People in today’s society see “the person who is disabled (in our eyes) is expected to be disabled” (Lane, 268). Does it mean someone with ADHD will never be able to pay attention, or control his/her behavior? If the people in our society had a more enlightened view on disability, it would dramatically change how we view the various differences humans possess. As a community, we have to understand that if we were put into these situations as disabled individuals, we would want the opportunity to not necessarily fix our problem, but feel better knowing we have the choice to move forward with our disability or use the assistance given to us to help our issue. A fix to one’s disability is not always what they seek. A way of not being pointed out as “different” or “deformed,” go about living their lives, and harnessing the proper tools to help them in their day-to-day lives is all a disabled person desires. Human beings characterize themselves based on what unique characteristics they possess. Therefore, many disable individuals would not want to give up what makes them unique, or in their minds “special.”
Receiving cochlear implants, to Lane, is more along the lines of a deaf person being “fixed.” The truth is, a deaf person will not be fixed from the implants, but it gives that human being the choice and gives them more options. Granted, the implants will not be even close to what natural hearing is, but with them, they can gain an appreciation of music, and in a quiet environment, even be able to understand speech. Lane’s article displays a great deal of disapproval towards cochlear implants in deaf people because he feels that deaf children who receive cochlear implant surgery, will grow up and have no absolute form of communication. He argues that even with the implants, it is not likely that a deaf child will live easily in a hearing world or in the deaf community because they will not fluently learn American Sign Language; “There is a real danger that he will grow up without any substantive communication, spoken or signed. He may develop problems of personal identity, of emotional adjustment, even mental health” (Lane, 264). However, even with the risks of not perfectly hearing or speaking after getting cochlear implants, allowing a deaf person to hear even the slightest bit could change their life. The effect that cochlear implants could have on a deaf person is similar to that of a person with ADHD taking medication to help them.
If someone with ADHD is taking medication, it often can make him or her feel like an “emotional rollercoaster,” or even feel as though they lost sight of their own personal identity. However, if one medication does not work him or her, they can try another medication until one works for them and satisfies their needs. Just like the cochlear implants, there is a similar outcome of taking ADHD medication. The implants give a deaf person a chance to hear and even speak. If a deaf person had the surgery, and came to the conclusion that advancing in the hearing world was more then they could handle, they could always learn and become fluent in American Sign Language. In the same respect, if a person taking ADHD medication was displeased with the outcome, they could either test another medication, or stop the medication all together.
As a community, whether hearing or deaf, we need to better understand that there are many diversifications and disabilities of the human condition that we need to be better informed about in order to fully understand a disabled human being. Deaf people do not want to hear because they feel unintelligent or childlike. Many people that are deaf believe that society sees them as deaf therefore, unintelligent, which is completely demeaning to the deaf community. Maybe they want the choice to hear because they have never heard before and want the chance to experience hearing music, and birds chirping. For example, hearing the elegant melodies of music, or even hearing sincerity in someone’s voice when they want to emphasize emotion, could be momentous in a deaf persons life. Therefore, we should not feel that we have to put ourselves in the position of a deaf person when we encounter one, but have a better understanding of the difficulties they go through from day-to-day. A deaf person being perceived as stupid, or even someone that is not worth attempting to communicate with should not even cross our mind when we encounter a deaf person. “Because language and intellect are so linked to our representations of people, deafness seems a defect of intellect. The “dumb” or “deaf and dumb” appears to refer not only to muteness but to weakness of mind” (Lane 267). These deaf people have hearing people judging them and thinking they are dumb everyday. Our representations of people should be solely based on an individual’s personality. In the same regard, we should not feel that we are speaking to someone who cannot pay attention or sit still when we encounter someone with ADHD. Yes, they are both disabled, and maybe even a bit different, but they are human beings. Everyone possesses different qualities that make us unique. The disabled people in our society need to be seen and understood in the category of human, and not different. We are all different in many diverse ways, and in reality, that is what makes us who we are. For example, a disabled person could be much smarter than a non-disabled person, but is restricted in terms of how they can display their intelligence. Taking the time to apprehend a deaf person seeking cochlear implants, or someone with ADHD seeking medication will alter how society will view a miscellany of differences or disabilities people possess. People without disabilities should not make the “extrapolative error” (Lane, 271) when they stumble across someone with a disability.
In Conclusion, these disabled human beings need to be better understood and the non-disabled have a more liberal view of disability to accept the human body’s imperfections. We are all different in many different ways. Some differences may be more extreme then others, but at the end of the day, we are all human beings and our differences are what make us unique. Disabilities as a whole should be classified as one of these differences, starting with a more enlightened view on these disabilities, which will change how society thinks about the countless number of differences across the human condition.

Work Cited
Brock, Stephen E., Shane R. Jimerson, and Robin L. Hansen. Identifying, Assessing, and Treating ADHD at School. Dordrecht; New York: Springer, 2009. Web.
Pratt, Helen D., and Donald E. Greydanus. "Learning Disabilities." Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2011. 147-159. Web.

Lane, Harlan. "Representation of Deaf People." Cultural Conversations: The Presence of the past. By Stephen Dilks, Regina Hansen, and Matthew Parfitt. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 262-72. Print.

Linton, Simi. "Reassigning Meaning." Cultural Conversations: The Presence of the past. By Stephen Dilks, Regina Hansen, and Matthew Parfitt. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 280-98. Print.