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• 1 media/lavender.jpg 2017-04-20T08:10:17-07:00 About Me 28 image_header 2017-04-26T16:29:24-07:00

  Who am I?

  My name is Katy McCarthy and I am a senior at Michigan State University. I am majoring in Physiology and plan to apply to dental school this summer. This website was part of my capstone project for my senior seminar course which explored Media, Science, and Technology. Throughout the semester my class thought about the impacts of media on our lives and how it can be used to communicate a message. Each person in my class selected a topic that they were interested in and explored how mediatization of this topic had an impact on shaping its meaning.

  When I'm not studying I enjoy spending time with friends and family and going for long walks with my red lab, Jackson. 
  
  

  Why ADHD? 

  ADHD is a complex condition and I believe many modes of treatment should be considered because what works for one child may not work for another. Throughout my studies as a physiology major in college I have gained a respect for deviations in the human body's normal set points. I personally was never diagnosed with ADHD, but I did have friends growing up who were. One of my friends was quickly put on medication in second grade because she became a handful for teachers to deal with and her parents didn't know what to do otherwise. Later on in life I talked with her about her medications and she admitted to feeling calm, but not in control of her life. She also expressed her difficulty with coming on and off the medications because during the summer or on the weekends her parents didn't want her to take it. She said she would feel confused about why she had to take it in some social situations and not others. In high school she began to wean herself off her medications and focus her energy on other things such as sports and art and found that these in combination with a healthy diet and overall lifestyle helped her to manage her ADHD. After seeing this I had a different outlook on what it meant to be ADHD and what it meant to live with it. 
  
  Another reason I was interested in this topic was its prevalence in our society. Whether ADHD is over-diagnosed or not, I know there are many children and adults who struggle with attentiveness and that I will have patients who are like this. Dentistry is a profession that involves a deep understanding for others and understanding how psychology relates to core science topics such as chemistry and biology. It is extremely important to me that I am prepared to treat a variety of patients ranging from those with  different socioeconomic backgrounds, varying ages and diseases, and those who may just need extra attention to get through an appointment that to most is dreaded from the second they walk through the door.
  
  I hope from this website you have gained a deeper understanding for how ADHD has been mediatized as well as an appreciation for the idea of alternative treatments. I also hope you have learned how to identify media sources that are targeting you as a parent and how you can find credible sources for your own personal research. 
  
  
  
  Thank you!! 

   

   

   

• 1 media/background2.jpg media/Screen Shot 2017-04-20 at 11.50.35 AM.png 2017-04-06T08:42:48-07:00 ADHD Literacy 20 This project is intended to make connections between media portrayals of ADHD and their impacts on alternative treatments such as behavioral therapy, parent training, and diet-alteration therapy. image_header 2017-04-20T08:53:52-07:00

  
  
  
  
  
  
  Welcome! My name is Katy McCarthy and I am a student at Michigan State University and this my capstone project.

   

  Throughout my last semester in undergrad I have been thinking about different media representations of ADHD and their effects on parents and children. I am particularly interested in media representations of alternative treatments for ADHD such as behavior therapy, parent training, and diet restrictions. I will use both scholarly and media sources, which I have extensively categorized and studied to help you (parents) think about how they are represented in the media and if you think they may be a useful treatment for your child who struggles with ADHD or ADHD-like symptoms.

   

  GOALS:

  1) Provide a comprehensive understanding of three alternative treatments; behavior therapy, parent training, and restriction diets.

  2) Teach YOU how to spot media sources regarding ADHD and its treatments that may be misleading or untrue.

  3) Help YOU decide if your child may benefit from an alternative treatment alone or in supplementation with a medication.

   

  Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), also referred to as ADD, diagnosis and treatment is a heavily debated topic among parents, teachers, and doctors alike. It is debated as a physiological, psychological, dietary, or environmentally related disorder. Social media has contributed greatly to the debate by acting as a platform for people to voice their personal opinions on the origins of the disorder. In the media, ADHD has been portrayed in a number of ways; ranging from the child with a genetic disorder that physically cannot focus, to the child who engages in too much time in front of the television and doesn’t care to focus in the classroom. The debate may be brought about by the seemingly vague definition of ADHD by the National Institute of Mental Health as, “a brain disorder marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.” Furthermore, inattention is defined as “a person who wanders off task”, hyperactivity is defined as a person that is constantly moving, and impulsivity is defined when “a person makes hasty actions that occur in the moment without first thinking about them” (1).

   

       Throughout this website I will be referencing a dataset I analyzed, which consisted of academic sources from scholarly journals and media sources which were comprised of news broadcast, newspaper, and social media encounters with alternative treatments. I assessed 11 of these types of media by determining if various themes showed up in the article. There were 9 themes I looked for in my dataset; focus on children, the mention of parents as a source of ADHD, recommendation of medication to supplement alternative treatments, mentions of mood or threats if ADHD is not treated, mention of adulthood ADHD, the usage of a chart to determine the effectiveness of the alternative treatment, a mention of the differences between how ADHD presents in boys and girls, the acknowledgement of diet as a treatment, and a mention of the controversy surrounding ADHD, its treatments, and its causes. My findings will be mentioned throughout the website and are summarized in my dataset page.