Book Review: The A.D.D. Book: New Understandings, New Approaches to Parenting Your
Child
By William
Sears, MD, and Lynda Thompson, PhD
Reviewed by Gina Gile-Maves
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 35 No. 4, August-September 1999, p. 88
Available from LLLI, No.
72-7
What a wonderful roller coaster
ride life turns out to be! You grow up, fall in love, give birth to
a child and wait for that magic moment when life is peaceful and serene
like an image in a television commercial. Only sometimes the dream doesn't
become reality; sometimes that little bundle of joy turns out to be
a whirling dervish of energy, defiance and turmoil. You have been blessed
with a child who has A.D.D. or A.D.H.D.
The A.D.D. Book by
William Sears, MD, and Lynda Thompson, PhD, is an excellent book for
parents of children with Attention Deficit Disorder with or without
hyperactivity. The book is a comforting, practical and empowering resource
that offers many suggestions for making sure that your child is given
opportunities that maximize his unique abilities and character traits,
allowing for more successes in his home life, school life and social
life. Sears and Thompson share insight, support and information that
make navigating the maze of A.D.D. management a positive journey.
Parenting a child with the
challenging personality traits that make up A.D.D. can be maddening,
leaving a parent feeling helpless and ineffective. Loving guidance suffers
as parents blame themselves, while listening to teachers, family, friends
and "experts" who tell them that they just need to be more
forceful with their child. This book offers encouragement to parents
whose children often make positive parenting seem impossible.
The book begins with a detailed
description of what A.D.D. is and what it is not. Many times children
are tagged with labels that diminish their uniqueness and work to make
them conform to standards that dull who they are. Although bright, many
children with A.D.D. are simply "square pegs in round holes."
Sears and Thompson are careful to define A.D.D. as an attention difference
and not necessarily a deficit. They also share descriptions and
examples of the many positive traits that are common to someone with
A.D.D.
A healthy pregnancy, breastfeeding,
good nutrition and attachment parenting are all mentioned as important
components of building a healthy brain. Sears and Thompson point out,
"The reason we stress the importance of building brains is that
A.D.D. specialists have observed that smarter children with A.D.D. are
better able to compensate for their attention or behavioral differences.
High intelligence is a protective factor" (page 70). When a child
is raised with a high-touch, high- commitment style of parenting, the
chances of developing problems due to A.D.D. are reduced.
The authors are very careful
to point out that attachment parenting and breastfeeding won't protect
your children from developing A.D.D. According to Sears and Thompson,
A.D.D. is a brain difference just as left-handedness is. A.D.D. affects
approximately five percent of the population. Attachment parenting is
suggested as a way to help nourish your child's brain and increase your
understanding and commitment to your child's special needs.
The LLLI concept, "From
infancy on, children need loving guidance which reflects acceptance
of their capabilities and sensitivity to their feelings" does not
say, "unless the child is really hard to parent." This book
offers support that parents need to live loving guidance, even when
their child may seem most unlovable.
The chapter "Medications
to Help A.D.D. " includes a note to parents and professionals reminding
them to "consider medication in addition to but not instead of
other treatments, such as behavior and learning strategies." The
chapter goes on to discuss the pros and cons of many common medications
used to treat A.D.D. Personal stories and questions from parents give
"you are not alone" support and encouragement to parents in
the trenches.
Other excellent chapters
in The A.D.D. Book discuss nutrition, neurofeedback and alternative
A.D.D. treatments. Parents will also appreciate the chapter "Understanding
A.D.D. Laws."
People with A.D.D. are creative,
energetic and spontaneous. Without people who have A.D.D., the world
would have fewer inventors, leaders, artists, explorers and entertainers.
Imagine the world without the gifts of people with A.D.D! You would
be reading this by candlelight and certainly wouldn't have Mozart music
playing soothingly in the background. In fact, although undiagnosed,
Dr. Sears says in his introduction that he is fairly certain that he
would have been labeled with A.D.D. as a child.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:31:43 UTC 2007.
