The A.D.D. Book - Softcover

Sears MD FRCP, William; Thompson PhD, Lynda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316778737 ISBN 13: 9780316778732

Publisher: Little, Brown Spark, 1998

Synopsis

One of America's most trusted pediatricians outlines an effective, drug-free approach to treating children with Attention Deficit Disorder. Your child with A.D.D. can flourish-without drug therapy. That's the revolutionary and reassuring message that Dr. William Sears delivers in The A.D.D. Book. Dr. Sears, whose bestselling books, including The Baby Book and The Discipline Book, have established him as one of the country's most reliable authorities on parenting, joins forces with child psychologist Lynda Thompson, Ph.D., to provide all the information that you as a parent need to help your child with A.D.D. thrive. In The A.D.D. Book you'll learn what A.D.D. is and what it is not, how to tell whether your child has A.D.D., and how to increase your child's learning ability both at home and at school. Dr. Sears and Dr. Thompson outline effective behavior modification strategies that reach beyond the widely prescribed drug therapy to improve your child's cognitive abilities while reducing hyperactivity. Using real-life case studies and the results of the most recent scientific research, they offer guidelines for living with and helping your child with A.D.D., including: * Ways to improve your child's attention and motivation in the classroom * Tips for helping your child learn to handle frustration * Ways to increase parent-child communication and develop time-management techniques for the entire family * Advice on selecting the right professional help * How neurofeedback (using computers to increase attention skills) can help your child learn * How to know if your child needs medication and how to make the right decisions about using it Dr. Sears and Dr. Thompson take a positive approach to A.D.D. They believe that A.D.D. is a difference rather than a disorder, and they explain how you can make some of the behavioral and personality traits that are characteristic of A.D.D. work to your child's advantage. Their book is a clear, comforting, and uniquely comprehensive parents' guide to A.D.D.

About this title

Review

"Dr. Bill" Sears, author of The Baby Book, beloved pediatrician, and creator of "attachment" parenting, teams with Lynda Thompson, an expert on attention deficit disorder and a proponent of neurofeedback, to provide parents with a highly positive, helpful guide to understanding and assisting the ADD child. Sears and Thompson carefully describe the ADD child's particular cluster of neurological traits--some positive (creativity, spontaneity, hyperfocus) and some potentially negative (selective attention, distractibility, hyperactivity). They emphasize that all of these traits can, depending upon how they are perceived and shaped, work to a child's advantage or disadvantage.

The authors provide insight into and an analysis of accurately diagnosing the ADD child, managing problem areas, and helping the child cope at school and at home. A thorough discussion about the use of stimulant drugs (Dr. Bill calls them "focus pills") describes appropriate use and misuse, and stresses that the drugs should be used in combination with other, more holistic therapies. Thompson's expertise in neurofeedback is presented as an effective alternative therapy. At a time when many schools have lengthy "Ritalin lines" in front of the nurse's office every day, Sears and Thompson's book is a welcome relief for parents looking for a wide scope of alternatives. --Ericka Lutz

About the Author

William Sears, M.D., is a former assistant professor at the University of Southern California School of Medicine.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0316778737
• ISBN 13: 9780316778732
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 319