66 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Name: Bart Simpson
Source: The Simpsons (Television series, 1989-present)
Background Information
Bart Simpson is an eight-year-old male with no history of a mental health diagnosis. Bart has been labeled an “underachiever” by authority figures and has poor grades in school ranging from D-minus to F. Bart can be ingenious regarding things that interest him such as learning portions of the Talmud to help reunite his idol, Krusty the Clown with Krusty’s father, Rabbi Krustofsky. However, this drive is absent for school-related performance. His academic achievements are behind those of his fourth-grade peers.
He has a history of consistent and sometimes significant trouble making. He also reports feelings of frustration with the narrow-minded people in his town for judging him by his problematic thoughts and actions. His relationship with his father is volatile and dysfunctional. One minute he is being strongly scolded by his father and the next him and his father bond over a collaborative prank. He once told Bart it was not okay to lose a children’s miniature golf tournament and made Bart stare angrily at this opponent for 15 minutes a day. There is evidence that his father forgets his youngest daughter even exists (Bart’s infant sister). Bart’s mother tends to “over-mother” her children and once left the family for a brief period due to a mental breakdown. Despite this, Bart has no significant problems in the relationship with his mother. Bart enjoys skateboarding, bubble gum, Squishees from the Kwik-E-Mart, and a single-handedly bringing a homicidal TV sidekick to justice – twice.
Family Mental Health History:
Marge Simpson is Bart’s mother. She is described as a happy homemaker and mother of three. Marge puts up with the antics of her husband (Homer, Bart’s father) and children in good spirits, for the most part. Though, in 1992 the combined stress of her workload and family’s problems caused her to have a mental breakdown. She went away to spend time at “Rancho Relaxo” before returning home to her overly-dependant family. Marge over-mothers her children and reports staying with Homer because he makes her feel needed. Marge speaks out about issues such as violence and moral hygiene. The townspeople respond with frustration for her disregard of social norms. However, she also has a history of gambling addiction. She worked to overcome this addiction but it always lingers as a possible problem.
Homer Simpson is Bart’s father. Homer’s father Abe raised Homer in the absence of his “radical hippie mother.” Homer has a reported low IQ of 55 accompanied by periods of forgetfulness and ignorance. A crayon was discovered to be lodged in his brain and when removed his IQ rose to 105. However, he did not like his new ability to understand reason so he had the crayon re-inserted. This returned his IQ to 55. Other contributors to his low functioning include his exposure to radioactive waste, his alcohol use, and rep