You and Your A.D.D. Child: How to Understand and Help Kids with Attention Deficit Disorder [Paperback]

My now 8 year old son has been struggling in school for several years now. His teachers always indicated there was an underlying issue that kept him from being able to focus in class and follow directions. We noticed this at home too; particularly when he would be given several tasks/steps to follow. My husband and I kept telling ourselves that "he has a late birthday so he's a bit immature" or "he's a boy and they're always behind girls". We had his blood tested and found all levels were normal other than a couple of mild food allergies. We eliminated the foods from his diet but still no change in behavior.

Our son is well-behaved, loving, all boy, and smart. We figured that if he could sit and focus so intently on a video game that he could focus in the classroom; but just chose not to because he didn't find it interesting. Finally, now in third grade, we started to notice (as did his teachers) that his self-esteem was really starting to plummet. He even told me that he is the "second dumbest kid in the class". Hearing this broke my heart. He showed no enthusiasm in school and never even wanted to have anyone over to play. He felt inferior.

I sat down with my husband and layed it all out, so to speak. My husband had always been very against the use of medication. I pointed out that I am the one meeting with the teachers and hearing the same information over and over. I also mentioned that I am the one working with our son on his homework every night and the struggles we both felt when doing so. Although, I must point out that my husband recently worked with our son one evening and expressed to me later how frustrating it was. My husband finally relented and said to call the doctor and I did the next day.

Our son was put on the lowest dose of med and the change has been phenomenal! He is actually getting As now and wants to go to school! His teachers said he has even chosen different friends to play with and sit with; no longer the struggling children that tend to be in trouble a lot. He no longer feels on their level.

Ok...to the book...this book is exactly what any parent needs when faced with ADD issues. A very interesting way this author explained how a child feels with ADD is to imagine your television turned on but listening to every channel at the same time. You simply cannot focus on one channel. This really hit home for me.

This book is easy to read and gives many examples of behavior; including check-lists for parents. I would highly recommend this to any parent that has recently been given the ADD diagnosis or even to the parent whom suspects their son or daughter may have ADD issues. The book also covers different medications as well as many misconceptions about ADD.

And to whomever is reading my review, I wish you well! You are your child's #1 advocate.

This was the best book on ADD my wife and I have read. It not only explained ADD in understandable terms, it also provided us with practical ways to help our child succeed at school, at church, and in society. We appreciated the examples given because they enabled us to explain our situation to others in ways that help others (family and friends) to understand that ADD is not a curse and that an ADD child is not damaged goods. This is a must-read for anyone related in any way to someone with ADD.

After reading this book I feel more prepared to face the day to day challenges living with a child with ADD. This book offered practical ideas and easy to understand information about Attention Deficit Disorder. I have already utilized many of the ideas mentioned in the book. My only concern with this book was the publishing date. This book was published in the 90's. I am aware that a lot of new research has been done since this book was published so the chapter about medication is dated.

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