Life on the Edge: Parenting a Child With Add/Adhd

Life with a child with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be tough, but take it from one who's been there: It can also be full of all the love, humor, and light that a parent might hope for. In this gentle, lighthearted, down-to-earth book, David Spohn uses his own experiences to help others make it through the stresses and chaos and heartbreak that raising a child with ADD/ADHD can entail-and to help them come through whole and happy and sane. From the new vocabulary and friends who come along with a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, to questions touching on everything from Ritalin to sibling rivalry to schooling to going out in public, Life on the Edge offers honest, practical, caring support-and a healthy dose of good humor-for parents of children with ADD/ADHD.

Art director of Hazelden Information and Educational Services and the author and illustrator of four children's books, David Spohn is the father of a child with attention deficit disorder.

David Spohn is the Senior Art Director of the Hazelden Foundation's Information and Educational Services Division. Over the past two decades, he has designed and illustrated hundreds of books, from children's books to adult daily meditation books.He has also written (as well as illustrated) several children's picture books, including Nate's Treasure, Winter Wood, Starry Night, and Home Field, (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard/William Morrow.) Nate's Treasure was a Golden Kite Award finalist in 1992. As these books are set at the farm where he lived, and the characters in the books are his two sons, he often tells people 'My books are stories from home.' He has visited dozens of schools throughout the Midwest talking to children about art and writing, and sharing his stories. He has also served as judge for the Minnesota Book Awards annual competition (design category.)David's newest book, Life on the Edge, though not a children's book, is also a story from home. It is a book about parenting a child with AD/HD. Offering information, hope and joy, Life on the Edge reflects the education received in raising a severely emotionally disabled child. He has shared his message with radio audiences from coast to coast, and Canada, and served as a panelist at the Minnesota's Children's Mental Health annual conference.David Spohn lives with his wife, two sons, a dog and two cats, near Lindstrom, Minnesota.