Rating: 
Summary: A misguided, debilitating approach to ADHD
Review: Back in 1996 I was at a CE seminar presented by Barkley, a smooth talker with lots of fancy graphics and research references, not to mention ties with pharmaceutical drug marketers. However, most of what he presents is distorted, superficial, and contains numerous false statements about the implications of research and about the causes and treatments of ADHD symptoms. Barkley is still "bark"ing up the same tree he was several years ago, making money by telling people what they wish to hear to absolve themselves of any responsibility in having fostered ADHD behaviors, or having to do anything more than use some fancy reward system sold by Barkley's associates or dispense some pill marketed by Barkley's benefactors. Barkley's approach has become widely adopted, thereby perpetuating the patterns of behavior labeled ADHD. Barkley's behavioral approach discourages thinking and creativity in children, instead making them focus on rewards and discipline, making their lives more stressful. The reward systems he recommends are also flawed from a behavioral psychology perspective, as psychologist David Stein has observed, and actually promote continued ADHD behaviors in a significant portion of children. This system is so flawed it's no wonder that the studies show drugs suppress ADHD behaviors better than Barkley's behavior management approaches. Unfortunately, the drugs can either aggravate ADHD symptoms over the long term or promote depression, bipolar, or obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depending upon the individual's internal reaction to the ingestion of disruptive chemicals. Barkley ignores better behavioral and parenting approaches as well as research confirming the benefits of approaches like neurofeedback, massage, acupuncture, nutritional supplements, sensory integration therapies, progressive educational settings, and treating for adverse reactions to exposure to environmental hazards, such as heavy metals, allergens, processed food ingredients, and synthetic chemicals. ADHD is a label for a pattern of behavior that is typical of a tendency to not filter stimuli as social settings often require, with a great many factors influencing the development of this pattern, and a great many factors having the potential to help the individual shift toward a more socially acceptable pattern of filtering stimuli, without suppressing one's ability to be creative, intuitive, or spontaneous. Barkley's approach does nothing about underyling factors contributing to the dominant pattern of diminished filtering, and directs the person to be highly reliant on external controls and manipulations, since Barkley assumes there is some inherent biological abnormality in people labeled ADHD, ignoring the interaction between the individual's personality, genetic potentials, social environment, biochemical environment, and educational environment. If you took a brain scan of someone with an ADHD label you could match it with patterns found in scans of anyone, depending upon what mood, activity, or state of focus they are in at the moment of the scan. Only 24 hour monitoring of brain activity would have any relevance to assessing ADHD patterns, and even then it would only show a pattern of brain activity initiated by psychological and chemical factors, which are variable, just like behaviors are. Barkley has no clue what the brain really is - a transceiver/transducer for information processing between the mind/spirit and the body embedded in the physical reality matrix. Conscious and subconscious psychological factors greatly influence the pattern of activity exhibited in the brain, as do nutrition and drug ingestion. Barkley promotes external locus of control, assuming something is inherently/genetically "wrong" in persons exhibiting ADHD patterns of behavior and attentional filtering. More enlightened approaches help the individual develop self-mastery in balancing their body, mind, and emotions to facilitate any desired state of consciousness, recognizing that taking in great amounts of stumuli data or seeking out the most exciting or novel stimulus to focus attention on is not a defect, but a way of interacting with the environment that may need to be used less frequently in order to function in some settings. If you want your child to be a drug dependent, order-following worker, then follow Barkley's approach. If you want your child to be intelligent, creative, thoughtful, and self-empowered, then I suggest you look at some holistic approaches.
Rating:
Summary: A misguided, debilitating approach to ADHD
Review: Back in 1996 I was at a CE seminar presented by Barkley, a smooth talker with lots of fancy graphics and research references, not to mention ties with pharmaceutical drug marketers. However, most of what he presents is distorted, superficial, and contains numerous false statements about the implications of research and about the causes and treatments of ADHD symptoms. Barkley is still "bark"ing up the same tree he was several years ago, making money by telling people what they wish to hear to absolve themselves of any responsibility in having fostered ADHD behaviors, or having to do anything more than use some fancy reward system sold by Barkley's associates or dispense some pill marketed by Barkley's benefactors. Barkley's approach has become widely adopted, thereby perpetuating the patterns of behavior labeled ADHD. Barkley's behavioral approach discourages thinking and creativity in children, instead making them focus on rewards and discipline, making their lives more stressful. The reward systems he recommends are also flawed from a behavioral psychology perspective, as psychologist David Stein has observed, and actually promote continued ADHD behaviors in a significant portion of children. This system is so flawed it's no wonder that the studies show drugs suppress ADHD behaviors better than Barkley's behavior management approaches. Unfortunately, the drugs can either aggravate ADHD symptoms over the long term or promote depression, bipolar, or obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depending upon the individual's internal reaction to the ingestion of disruptive chemicals. Barkley ignores better behavioral and parenting approaches as well as research confirming the benefits of approaches like neurofeedback, massage, acupuncture, nutritional supplements, sensory integration therapies, progressive educational settings, and treating for adverse reactions to exposure to environmental hazards, such as heavy metals, allergens, processed food ingredients, and synthetic chemicals. ADHD is a label for a pattern of behavior that is typical of a tendency to not filter stimuli as social settings often require, with a great many factors influencing the development of this pattern, and a great many factors having the potential to help the individual shift toward a more socially acceptable pattern of filtering stimuli, without suppressing one's ability to be creative, intuitive, or spontaneous. Barkley's approach does nothing about underyling factors contributing to the dominant pattern of diminished filtering, and directs the person to be highly reliant on external controls and manipulations, since Barkley assumes there is some inherent biological abnormality in people labeled ADHD, ignoring the interaction between the individual's personality, genetic potentials, social environment, biochemical environment, and educational environment. If you took a brain scan of someone with an ADHD label you could match it with patterns found in scans of anyone, depending upon what mood, activity, or state of focus they are in at the moment of the scan. Only 24 hour monitoring of brain activity would have any relevance to assessing ADHD patterns, and even then it would only show a pattern of brain activity initiated by psychological and chemical factors, which are variable, just like behaviors are. Barkley has no clue what the brain really is - a transceiver/transducer for information processing between the mind/spirit and the body embedded in the physical reality matrix. Conscious and subconscious psychological factors greatly influence the pattern of activity exhibited in the brain, as do nutrition and drug ingestion. Barkley promotes external locus of control, assuming something is inherently/genetically "wrong" in persons exhibiting ADHD patterns of behavior and attentional filtering. More enlightened approaches help the individual develop self-mastery in balancing their body, mind, and emotions to facilitate any desired state of consciousness, recognizing that taking in great amounts of stumuli data or seeking out the most exciting or novel stimulus to focus attention on is not a defect, but a way of interacting with the environment that may need to be used less frequently in order to function in some settings. If you want your child to be a drug dependent, order-following worker, then follow Barkley's approach. If you want your child to be intelligent, creative, thoughtful, and self-empowered, then I suggest you look at some holistic approaches.
Rating: 
Summary: excellent info and solutions to adhd
Review: barkeley is a leader in the field of adhd. he really knows his subject, and has scientific research to back it up. many people don't know that barkeley himself is a twin who has an adhd brother. this is a superlative book. it's well written, and full of positive information.
Rating: 
Summary: Getting Better, but Still Limited
Review: Dr. Barkley's book covers many important areas, and does so competently. However, he also promulgates some important misinformation. Although to a lesser degree in the revised edition, he still ignores a significant literature showing utility of EEG biofeedback for remediating symptoms of ADHD. He ignores early case study data, group series data, and recent controlled study data. This suggests at minimum, scientific negligence of an entire field of study. Further, he fails to adequately consider recent reviews that are unfavorable regarding utility of Ritalin. Although criticism can be rendered for most books, given Dr. Barkley's stature, and the responsibilty owed to a public sorely in need of information and direction, we should expect greater attempt at objectivity. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Life Saving for Parents
Review: Finally - someone writes an ADHD book designed to help not hinder the process. Thank you for believing that these children are special not different and teaching how to deal "proactively" with the child without losing your own mind in the process.
Rating:
Summary: Drugs! Drugs! And More Drugs!
Review: I am so tired of having these medical people push their drugs on these poor kids. This book is antichild and treats kids with ADD as if they are the problem. It doesn't talk about things that could be done to help the child or ways of teaching them good behavior. The author even states that medication doesn't solve the problem. And he doesn't even cover the side effects in detail. I want to help my child be happy with who he is and succeed in life.
Rating:
Summary: Micro-Managaing ADHD
Review: I am very disappointed with this book and disturbed by its apparent popularity. I do not agree with parents who panned this book with because of its emphasis on medication. Many ADHD children, my own included, are more endangered off medication than on. I am more concerned by Dr. Barkley's generally pessimistic outlook on ADHD, his extreme emphasis on reward systems, and rigid classroom environments.
A simple incentive program is important as one component of behavior management, but a program that relies almost entirely on a system of rewards and punishments places control of the child's behavior in the hands of parents and teachers and robs the child of the opportunity to ever take responsibility for his/or her own conduct.
Likewise, I am troubled by his recommendations for classroom management. He describes a classroom in which children sit in rows and their activities are highly regulated by the teacher. The best thing that every happened to our ADHD child is Montessori, where he is able to regulate his own experiences, choosing to work quietly alone when he feels over-whelmed and joining other children when he can control of himself. Our academically gifted, highly creative son flourishes in this environment, but he would utterly shut down in the type of classroom Dr. Barkley describes.
I fear Dr. Barkley's recommendations stem from a basic lack of faith in the ADHD child. He barely acknowledges the strengths of the child, and repeatedly focuses on the negative. He seems to view the ADHD child, (and adult) as helpless victim, who must be regulated and organized by others.
I view the role of the parents, psychologist, psychiatrist, and teachers in the ADHD child's life as helping him or her learn to manage the disease. Ultimately, overtime, responsibility for self-control must be handed over to the patient, as s/he will grown up. Therefore, along with external rewards within limits, the child needs to learn systems of self-management and to recognize the internal rewards that come with self-control. Clearly, as the very title indicates, Dr. Barkley places control of the behavior in the hands of the caregivers. Where will the child be when s/he is grown and we are no longer are able to exert this kind of control?
Rating: 
Summary: Useful, thought provoking, but utterly cold and empathy-free
Review: I came to this book as a skeptic, and as someone who wants nothing to do with the meds. I had avoided reading Barkley because I knew him to be a big drug guy.However, I found his explanation of ADHD as a problem of inhibition rather than attention to be interesting and to ring true. He also talks about how this relates to troubles with language, motor skills, learning problems and other things that are seen with some ADHD kids. It shed some light on the larger picture, and was very interesting and useful in thinking about the whole child, not just the ADHD behavior part. It was more in-depth than other explanations I had read of ADHD, and more convincing. As for the drugs, he really does not emphasize them as much as I expected. Clearly, he believes they are effective and safe, but at one point he actually says that if you are just anti-drug don't bother trying them because you won't stick with it. Like other pro-drug things I have read, he does not really address the issue of how or when you decide to get off the drugs. I guess the drug companies aren't funding studies of that question. One funny point -- in a section advising parents to take care of themselves, he cautions them to avoid caffeine and nicotine because they are stimulants and can make your heart race and increase your blood pressure. Not good for parents, but apparently OK for the kids. The book actually spends a lot more time on behavior modification techniques than it does on the drugs. Ironically, many of these techniques are similar to those recommended by David Stein in his book Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco, which is as anti-diagnosis and drugs as Barkley's is pro. I have found many of these techniques to be useful, although I think the tokens and points thing is unwieldy and unrealistic. The biggest negative of this book is the author's tone, which is offensive in several ways. First, he is paternalistic, frequently lecturing the reader to be critical of sources, etc, yet giving the impression that one should accept his information as scientific and accurate because he says it is. Second, he gives a seemingly endless litany of ways in which these children will struggle and fail -- learning, friendship, behavior, work, etc. It was so depressing I had to put the book down for awhile. His one positive comment is that some ADHD kids may do well in the arts or in sales, but he is careful to qualify that remark by noting that they won't be better than "normal" kids, they just might be as good as "normal" kids in these areas. Third, and most striking, is his complete lack of empathy for his patients. Once in awhile he seems to express at least some sympathy for the parents and their struggle, but I cannot think of any examples in which he puts himself in the ADHD kid's place and dicusses how it might feel to be on the receiving end of these problems, meds and other treatments. The child is viewed as the problem to be solved. He makes very clear that there are ADHD kids, and there are normal kids, and the two groups do not overlap. He sees these kids as very disabled and in need of sheltering from the normal demands of life. I'm sure that some days this is true, but it is a very pessimistic and condescending view in the long run, one that does nothing to prepare a person to live in the real world as an adult. He does not ever discuss the potential psychological consequences to the child of being treated by parents, teachers and doctors as so disabled and incapable of ever performing "normally." Treating your child as being as disabled as Barkley says may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. He could use to read a copy of Martin Seligman's book Learned Optimism. Despite the negatives, I recommend this book. It has a practical focus, but still provides a detailed and interesting discussion of ADHD symptoms, behavior, etc. It favors the meds, but it does not beat you over the head with it or dismiss other approaches. In fact, it says that meds must be used in conjunction with other treatments. Finally, Barkley seems to be a big cheese in the ADHD field, and even if you don't agree with him, it is useful to know what the mainstream point of view is. You may be surprised, as I was, to find more of value here than you expected.
Rating:
Summary: Author is biased and negative toward children with ADHD
Review: I feel this author has consistently demonstrated his bias that drugs are necessary to treat ADHD. This is not what I have found in treating ADHD with EEG biofeedback, which hundreds of other practitioners also report successfully using. Drugs don't always change symptoms of ADHD. Drugs may be necessary in some case in conjunction with other approaches, but are not the magic pill we all wish we had to reverse the problems ADHD is belived to cause.
[In my opinion] the Barkley book reflects the authors bias and he fails to allow that so many researchers have had very good results with EEG biofeedback. I would suggest reading another book such as J. Ratey's "Driven to Distraction" or Joel Sears et al. "The ADD Book". Read one of these first if you must read Barkley.
Joseph Kaye, Dr.P.H.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you Dr. Barkley
Review: I have a daughter with ADHD. I found this book to be very helpful in understanding what's going on inside her beautiful little head. It was great to see Dr. Barkely's claims backed up with real research done by real research institutions and not by folks trying to sell the "London Bridge".
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