Sheelah Mills

University of Adelaide · Robinson Institute

Prior to the establishment and promotion of ADHD as a psychiatric disorder, the labels “minimal brain dysfunction” (MBD), “hyperactivity” (HA), and “learning disability” (LD) were diagnostic terms for children with hard-to-manage behaviors. At the time, these labels and the treatment interventions, especially the heavy reliance on stimulant medicat...

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), along with many medical authorities, state that ADHD is a neurobiological condition caused by disordered brain circuitry impacting executive functioning (RACP, 2009), and often requiring specialist medical intervention. The notion of defective executive functioning is central to a theory put forw...