I received this book to review and it's an excellent resource for parents who have children with ADD/ADHD
933492
I received this book to review and it's an excellent resource for parents who have children with ADD/ADHD. We're parenting two children with ADHD and it's really been eye-opening to understand more about how their brains work. Plus, the book has suggestions on how to help kids improve their organization and attention skills! Definitely one to add to your ADHD library!
3161880
I saw Dr. Amen's show on PBS and that motivated me to buy this book. We have ADD and ADHD in our family, my son in particular is struggling with it.  He fell through the cracks in our school system and it wasn't until he got to college that he felt overwhelmed and began failing.  I wish we had this book 10 years ago but it's never to late to have healing begin.  Dr. Amen gives a lot of examples from his clinic, much of whom I can relate to, but I feel this takes up a huge portion of the book. I am more interested in how to help my son without medications.  This is discussed, but I would have preferred more details. Overall, a very good book for helping those with ADD.
3739113
Our 8YO was recently diagnosed with PDD (a form of autism) and his psychologist recommended this book.  I'm usually skeptical about these things, so I was a little hesitant.  But I'm happy to say that the advice in this book was very good.  I like the idea of parents having the tools to cope with difficult children while not having to resort to physical punishment or yelling.  It's all about keeping your cool and being 1-step ahead of your difficult child (who as in our case, and in probably most cases, is highly intelligent and knows exactly how to press buttons).  The best thing we could do for our children (especially the difficult ones) is teach them responisibility and consequences for their actions....either that, or they'll learn it the hard way in the "real world".  I've already recommended this book to friends and will continue to do so.
4826855
The book arrived on time and in great condition. I am an international adoptee, and I wanted to read this book from the perspective of a parent to be better able to parent myself now that I'm an adult. I find it very useful in the ways in which the author makes me aware of certain feelings and behaviors from my past. Rather than feeling so crazy, it has helped me to understand why I felt or did certain things. I highly recommend this book. Sometimes I can only read a little at a time because it can be a lot to process, but I trust the process and am grateful for this resource.
3134763
This book is great to use for therapy clients or as a mom who is looking for a way to help her child. I use it with my counseling clients who have ADHD and it not only helps them but it helps their parents too.
2509685
This reveiew originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbook.com.

Thanks to New Harbinger Publications for this review copy!

While LIVING WITH ADD is a book designed to help the individual struggling with ADD symptoms better understand his or her own situation, I believe that this book would be better sold as a couples therapy book than a self help book. Kyle and I read this book together, and it did much more to help us understand each other than it did to help me understand myself (to be fair, that may have more to do with my having read multiple books on this topic than with any quality inherent to the book itself).

LIVING WITH ADD follows a format of:
 Introducing a problem faced by ADDers - mood swings, for example
 Describing different ways in which people with ADD typically handle or experience the problem
 Asking the reader about his or her own experience with the problem being discussed, prompting him or her to write and answer directly onto the page
 Providing advice on how to limit the negative impact of the problem on the readers life

The idea of this workbook is to help the ADD'er work through frequently encountered problems related to ADD. You don't have to follow the chapters in order, which may bring joy to an ADD'er's heart! What's important is that the reader take the time to think about the exercises and answer truthfully. The questions are both probing and simple, and most all of them provoke a thought process.  I found that some of the questions really forced me to come to terms with some of my actions, both in the past and recently.

Kyle would read a chapter first, and then I would read it, filling in the blanks as I went along. She would then look again to see my answers. Since she would have already read the chapter, she would have had time to think about how I might have answered, so that when I would answer differently from how she expected, it would lead to a conversation that made us understand each other more deeply.

I think that people who struggle with ADD symptoms are tired of hearing themselves explain themselves. We feel like were making excuses, and our experiences over time teach us that people don't want to hear it. Its helpful to have a disinterested third party, like this book, initiate the conversation. For couples who often find themselves getting defensive when they would really just like to get closer, this book might be the right tool to make that happen. If that doesnt sound like you, you may still stand to learn more about each other.

The wealth of value in this workbook is bolstered by the easygoing, unambiguous prose that neither assumes prior knowledge in the reader, nor disrespects his or her intelligence. It's an easy read even though it maintains a high level of information density. That is, you won't find yourself sojourning multiple pages into a chapter wondering when the author will move on. Examples are usually employed to introduce new dimensions to the the problem being discussed. Otherwise, they are included to flesh out a topic that may be difficult to identify with, where the reader might think, "That isn't me... oh wait. That actually is me." In LIVING WITH ADD, Ph. Ds. Roberts & Jansen have provided us with a case study for the judicious use of examples in a self-help text.

Finally, the margins on these pages are enormous, leaving tons of room for notes. I was compelled to leave a doodle here and there in my copy!

I feel compelled to conjure up some criticism for this workbook, but nothing serious has come to mind. I would really have to nitpick. One or two of the writing prompts don't leave enough room for a broad range of possible answers, forcing me to leave them blank. If this wasn't such a fantastic book, something like this would genuinely irk me. In this case, however, this was a mild curiosity sandwiched by reams of goodness. That these questions stood out to me at all speaks to the overall quality of the rest of the book.
4280797
This is an excellent book to help parents of sensory-special kids understand sensory disorders and the different subtypes.  It has a lot of basic information that many parents will already be aware of but it also has a ton of new insight that really broadened my understanding of my daughter's special needs.  After reading the book I feel like I have more empathy and understanding of why my daughter reacts to different things the way she does.  If you buy this book you should definitely buy the companion book "The Out of Sync Child Has Fun" because it actually gives ideas for HOW to help the sensory-special child whereas "The Out of Sync Child" is more about just understanding their needs.  Together, both make great reading for every parent whose child has special sensory needs.
3893593
School Success for Kids with ADHD is a guidebook for parents, educators, and other adults who work with children.  Attention issues may be found among children of every culture and every level of ability.  Gifted children with attention deficit are often misdiagnosed or marked as underachievers.

The authors of this book are two psychologists and a veteran classroom teacher.  They present up to date research on ADHD along with realistic methods for accommodation.  I found myself nodding my head in agreement at many of the most salient points.  Kids with attention problems need the support and guidance of the adults in their lives.  Even the brightest should not be left to fend for themselves.  Left untreated, many ADHD kids grow up to self medicate with alcohol and drugs.

The book opens with an inspirational quote from record-breaking Olympic gold medalist, Michael Phelps.  Phelps has ADHD and his mother notes that , "He never sat still,  never stopped talking, never stopped asking questions, and had difficulty staying on task."  But Michael did have the ability to "hyperfocus" on swimming, and so she encouraged him to stick with it.  Gifted kids with ADHD often seem to be able to hyperfocus this way.  I believe that this contributes to the frequent perception that they are merely lazy, as parents and teachers can point out examples of intense attention to detail that seem to belie an ADHD diagnosis.

The first few chapters of "School Success" discuss the history of ADHD, the importance of attention , and the medical perspective.  Chapter four is directed at parents and includes information on how to request assessment for attention deficit, tips for managing behavior at home, strategies for homework issues, and support group facts.  Chapter five is the practical heart of the book.  It contains a 12 point Multimodal Action Plan.  This comprehensive plan addresses assessment, medical monitoring, educational support, and more.  The plan calls for a network of people and tools to treat the individual.
It makes sense that a single option or course of treatment will be less effective over time than one which treats the child holistically.  School accommodations are the topic of chapter six.  Small changes such as preferential seating (in the front row or away from distractions) may add up to a big change in school performance.  As kids grow older, they have more complex responsibilities and must deal with extensive homework, project planning and implementation, etc.  These topics are also addressed.  Chapter eight is titled, "College and Beyond."  It emphasizes the need for careful planning and a treatment plan for college.  Chapter ten reviews alternative treatments for ADHD, including the Feingold Diet, EFA supplementation, ginkgo biloba, and homeopathy, to name a few. Some of these treatments appear to yield positive results, while others produce little or no effect in controlled studies.
The book wraps up with a nice resource list,  a who's who of eminent people with ADHD or learning disabilities, a few reproducible worksheets, and extended research data.

All in all, this is a very useful, accessible, and well written guide.
4248162
Every teacher, school board member and friend of anyone with ADD or ADHD will benefit from this book. It's a turning point for our family: the author gave me an insight into things the doctors couldn't tell me about our first born (who was diagnosed with ADHD a couple of year ago.) It gave me a sense of when to ease up and when to step up to the plate. This story will help parents be better parents and give sufferers a way forward.

It may not be Angela's Ashes, but it's still a gift to the world. Pass it on.
3178033
There really aren't words to describe the insight this book gave my family.  We had early signs of ADHD for my son, and I can tell you that the things I learned in this book I still use.  My son is now 14.  I purchase this book for anyone I know who has a spirited child, and is at the end of their rope.  It gives you easy strategies to get through the day. It is great for kids with ADHD.
1995890
Wow. An amazing resource book to have for every library. This book taught me so much about the inner workings of the ADHD brain. It helped me understand my step sons behavior in a whole new way and gave me so much insight that was very needed. I now realize that he is not being intentionally lazy or defiant but just being ADHD! Definetly worth the time and money to buy and read!
4787552
I would highly recommend this book to parents and guardians of girls with ADHD.  I saw many of my daughter's behaviors and symptoms very clearly at each stage of her life - how I wish I had had this book when she was younger!  We were fortunate to have a pre-school teacher who was experienced enough to point out to us the "red flags" she was observing with our daughter's behavior in the classroom and how she related to other children, and she was professional enough not to diagnose her, but referred us to neurologist who made the diagnosis, so we caught her ADHD early, which made a huge difference.  This is an eye-opening book, and will help prepare you for what may be coming as your child progresses through school and life stages.  It has given me the information that I needed to understand how I can help my daughter succeed and grow and how to relate to her effectively now and in the future.  Now I know why she's so tired when she comes home from school and this book makes it so obvious! The real-life examples are riveting and heart-breaking and will make any good parent want to do anything they can to help their daughter avoid those pitfalls that these women experienced throughout their lives. Bravo to the authors for recognizing that research done on boys with ADHD can only provide a piece of the puzzle - we all know that boys and girls are different and as a result, present ADHD symptoms and behaviors in different ways, as you will see when you read this book.  Don't hesitate to buy this book - you will be glad you did and your daughter will be too!
1743185
As a long-time educator and school counselor, my heart breaks each time a young child's diagnosis of ADHD is addressed with chemicals as the first protocol, altering the young developing brain with drugs. Dr. Sandy Newmark's carefully researched and documented new book supports alternatives to drugging our intensely, delightful youth, giving parents and educators tools to tackle real issues of focus and the under-developed executive functioning.  This book is exactly the resource I have needed  to combat the ever-growing demand made by well-intentioned parents, physicians, educators when they query, "Have you considered putting him/her on medication?"  Rather, have you considered  ADHD Without Drugs?  Bringing out the best version of our children without drugs - who doesn't want that?

Tammy F. Small, M.Ed., Educator for 27 years, School Counselor and Certified Advanced Nurtured Heart Trainer working with educators, families and WONDERFULLY INTENSE children
3608063
As a parent of a child with autism, I know that everything matters.  Every seemingly insignificant reaction can actually be quite significant in eliciting a desired response.  It can therefore be complicated to determine the appropriate response.  This is a great resource in helping to manage that ongoing task.  This book demonstrates how to integrate an understanding of the principles of behavior analysis with an understanding of the learner to achieve the best results.  This book answers questions and dispels myths in the most logical and easy to follow manner.  Best of all, it doesn't just give the answer but explains the concept.  As a parent, I am glad such a resource exists.  After reading this book, I immediately found ways to maximize my own effectiveness.  It is this kind of book that not only teaches but empowers the professional and parent to be the best they can be.  Parents, this is a must-have for you and your child's team and well worth the price.
2423849
What an excellent resource for my teen with ADHD. She is getting more in touch with her ADHD and how it affects her. I'm just sad I didn't get it sooner.
4194518
I recommend The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook to families who struggle with the behavior of their child and realize they need to do something very different. When my daughter was seven years old, doctors considered diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disease, or pervasive developmental disorders.

With muscle testing for food reactions from our chiropractor and a willingness to try the diet, I found The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook  by Compart and Laake. The first eighty-two pages of this book were valuable to me because they were successful practitioners who had helped actual children! These seven chapters gave me ideas of medical tests to request from our doctors for our daughters. They explained why my practitioner had recommended vitamin B supplements or magnesium. The book's front material gave me a roadmap for removing reactive foods from my daughter's diet. They provided serving sizes, substitutions, and references to other helpful websites and books. The recipes inspired me, although I don't cook directly from it very often because my child eats what I give her and I don't have to sneak foods into her.

The GFCF diet worked! With time and perseverance, our daughter gradually relaxed enough that we added counseling and other therapies with her. It has been three years since we started the diet. She just completed fourth grade as a straight-A student. Her emotional control is a work in progress, but we are progressing! The diet was our first successful step, and this book helped us do it.
511602
As the parent of a child with ADHD, it's hard to find books out there that aren't unrealistic, crunchy granola "Your child can be cured of ADHD with my simple strategies" or depressing "ADHD is serious and your child is likely to end up in jail" reality checks.

This one offers a nice middle ground with the first-hand experience of a parent who has walked in my shoes. It was refreshing to read the perspective of someone also researching the best options for her son (and herself), who has the strong journalistic background to weed out the garbage information.

I found this book to be a page-turner and I looked forward to learning more about her family's journey with ADHD. So much has mirrored our own research efforts and daily life. Our son isn't functional without medication, but we've just recently decided to explore neurofeedback as a supplemental strategy, so it was particularly interesting to read about her personal experience with that.

I'm recommending this book to all of my friends dealing with ADHD. It really is a great book.