Editorial Review:Product Description:Through vivid stories of the experiences of their patients (both adults and children), Drs. Hallowell and Ratey show the varied forms ADD takes -- from the hyperactive search for high stimulation to the floating inattention of daydreaming -- and the transforming impact of precise diagnosis and treatment.
Amazon.com:This clear and valuable book dispels a variety of myths about attention deficit disorder (ADD). Since both authors have ADD themselves, and both are successful medical professionals, perhaps there's no surprise that the two myths they attack most persistently are:
(a) that ADD is an issue only for children; and
(b) that ADD corresponds simply to limited intelligence or limited self-discipline. 'The word
disorder puts the syndrome entirely in the domain of pathology, where it should not entirely be. Although ADD can generate a host of problems, there are also advantages to having it, advantages that this book will stress, such as high energy, intuitiveness, creativity, and enthusiasm, and they are completely overlooked by the 'disorder' model.' The authors go on to cite Mozart and Einstein as examples of probable ADD sufferers. (The problem as they see it is not so much attention deficit but attention inconsistency: 'Most of us with ADD can in fact hyperfocus at times.') Although they warn against overdiagnosis, they also do a convincing job of answering the criticism that 'everybody, and therefore nobody' has ADD. Using numerous case studies and a discussion of the way ADD intersects with other conditions (e.g., depression, substance abuse, and obsessive-compulsive disorder), they paint a concrete picture of the syndrome's realities. Especially helpful are the lists of tips for dealing with ADD in a child, a partner, or a family member.
--Richard Farr
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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I'm too distracted to review this but I wasn't distracted at all reading it
Honestly, the title of my review wasn't originally intended to be funny. I came on Amazon to look up the publishing date for a footnote/bibliography reference for this book. I now have spent too much time reading reviews on diet books and updating my other reviews on movies and phones to do this review justice.
But if you're looking it up, you don't want a long review anyway. It is the best book in the world for someone with ADD, thinks they might have ADD or someone who has to live with a person with ADD.
BUY IT NOW!! Before you get distracted.
Rating: 
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One of the classics - but dated
This is an excellent book for the person who has not heard of ADHD until recently, particularly for the adult who has been unknowingly suffering its effects. But I was an adolescent when ADHD first became widely recognized and diagnosed, and I grew up with friends and family members who were diagnosed and treated for their ADHD, at a time when "You mean I'm not crazy, stupid or lazy?" was sort of a joke catchphrase in the high school hallways. This book presumes that, by the time you read it, your ADHD or that of your child has already gone unrecognized for a number of years and caused personal and academic problems. As such, it doesn't really speak to the reality of modern day parents who have known about ADHD from the time our children were born and are now struggling to diagnose and treat the disorder BEFORE it disrupts our children's lives. In addition, the information on medication is very out of date, as many advances have occurred in the 15 years since the book was written.
Rating: -
The ADHD bible
Having had ADHD since birth and as a recovering alcholic, I found this books to answer the many questions that I had regarding the disease. I was always a self-medicator and that turns out to be a classic symptom of ADHD. Five years and no drugs or alcohol!
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Illumination - first step to healing
I am an MD and knew for years I did not think like other people-in fact it was extremely difficult to think at all. Getting through med school was tough; I studied constantly and would read and re-read the weighty textbooks; still only "average" among my classmates, after a stellar (and very structured) high school and college performance.
Every page of this book had an "aha" moment for me, brought me to tears numerous times when I saw how comparable my suffering was with the Hallowell patients. Knowledge of this malady alone has helped tremendously.
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Driven to Distraction
A well written book which listed case studies but did not fulfill my expectation with assistance for solutions to this problem of ADHA.
