With decades of experience working with ADD children, Dr. Edward Hallowell-a pediatric psychiatric clinician, father of two ADD children, and himself an adult with ADD-understands how easily the gifts of this condition are lost on a child amid negative comments from doctors, teachers, and even loving but frustrated parents. Hallowell has long argued that ADD is too often misunderstood, mistreated, and mislabeled as a "disability." Now he teams up with top academic ADD researcher Peter S. Jensen, M.D., who is himself a father of an ADD child, to bring you an upbeat and encouraging new approach to living with and helping your ADD child. The practical strength-based techniques Drs. Hallowell and Jensen present put the talents, charms, and positive essence of your child ahead of any presumed shortcomings. Clearly outlined and organized, Superparenting for ADD offers a specific game plan that includes - UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Tune out the diagnosticians and labelers and simply notice and nourish the spirit of your child for who he is. Providing this unshakable base of support will set the tone for all interactions to come.
- VIEWING THE MIRROR TRAITS There are positive sides of the negative symptoms associated with ADD: stubbornness = persistence; impulsiveness = creativity; intrusiveness = eagerness. By recognizing the mirror traits, you avoid the ravages of shame and fear.
- THE CYCLE OF EXCELLENCE Use this critical 5-step process to help a child develop self- and social awareness. Nurture an environment in which a child can safely take risks, reserve time to let a child dabble as a way to learn, encourage playful practice, support mastery of a skill (whatever the skill may be), and then recognize a child's accomplishments.
- IDENTIFYING AND TAPPING THE SOURCE Pinpoint your child's inner, conative strengths, which drive what he naturally and spontaneously does, as opposed to what he is told to do or feels he must do. Your child will do his best when allowed to use these conative strengths.
Drs. Hallowell and Jensen fully understand the real and everyday challenges-both at home and at school-facing parents of an ADD child. Now this important book shows you how to unwrap the wonderful, surprising gifts of ADD and turn what is too often labeled a lifelong disability into a lifelong blessing.
About the Author :
Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., was an instructor at Harvard Medical School for twenty years and is now the director of the Hallowell Centers in Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, and the Boston area. He is the co-author of Driven to Distraction, Delivered from Distraction, and Answers to Distraction, as well as the author of CrazyBusy, The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness, and Worry, among other titles. He also hosts a weekly podcast called Distraction that offers practical solutions on how to focus and regain control in today's digital world. Peter S. Jensen, M.D., is a world-renowned child psychiatrist, the author of more than 200 scientific articles, and the CEO of the REACH (REsource for Advancing Children's Health) Institute. Dr. Jensen was the founding director of the Center for the Advancement of Children's Mental Health at Columbia University and the associate director of Child and Adolescent Research at NIMH, where he served from 1989 to 2000. In 1999 he received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from NAMI (the National Alliance for the Mental Ill) and was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. He lives in New York.
Review :
Advance praise for Superparenting for ADD "The shelves of most bookstores are lined with volumes that define, explain, and demystify attention deficits. But Superparenting for ADD is different. An upbeat, positive, and constructive guide, it offers parents strategies that will assist them in the day-to-day challenges of raising their ADD child and help him to reach his fullest potential."
-Richard Lavoie, author of It's So Much Work to Be Your Friend
"I once believed that understanding genes and their effects on the brain would be the only means to effectively help children with ADHD. But despite the strong role genes play, I wholeheartedly agree with Hallowell and Jensen that love trumps all else. This book is a must-read for parents, scientists, and physicians and it will obliterate once and for all a purely deficit-based model of understanding ADHD."
-Susan L. Smalley, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, UCLA
"Superparenting for ADD is written with an exuberance and directness that makes it easy reading. . . . Taking us inside the minds of ADD children and showing how the world looks from their perspective, Hallowell and Jensen provide invaluable advice for parents and educators alike."
-Tyler C. Tingley, principal, Phillips Exeter Academy
"This beautifully written and groundbreaking book will compel you to look anew at ADD children and to see the gifts that are too often hidden in clouds of frustration and heartache. On a mission to change the paradigm of ADD treatment, Hallowell and Jensen offer very practical, step-by-step advice to help parents mine and develop the gold within every 'distracted' child. Mission accomplished!"
-John Ratey, M.D., co-author of Driven to Distraction and author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
