Rating: 
Summary: Another book in the Bible of ADD.
Review: Again, Drs. Hallowell and Ratey provide ADDers with another essential tool in dealing with their disability. Those who have ADD really should have this book and Driven to Distraction if they haven't it. Even if I reread the book, it continues to provide me with and remind me of helpful principles in living as an ADDer. One thing the books have taight me: ADDers are normal! We are trapped in a structure-trapped, overformalistic world that causes us to be distracted, yet has little tolerance for it. Yet the ADDer can survive - successfully. Thanks again to Drs. Hallowell and Ratey for such a relevant and helpful book - their books in fact!
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Summary: The first book to be included in your ADHD library
Review: Dr. Hallowell & Dr. Ratey have written two books that are considered the gold standard of material on the subject of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This book, and its predescessor Driven To Distraction, share equally in providing the basics about the disorder in children, and adults. The format is easy to read and gives people who are new to understanding the disorder an overview of what it feels like to be ADHD. The chapter on Anger, "The gemlike flame", will take you step by step on how the ADD mind processes an incident that results in frustration and temper outbursts. Only from working with hundreds of people could Hallowell & Ratey detail this information in such an understandable format. In fact, this is the book that allowed me to be diagnosed with ADHD as a 36 year old adult, even though I had been diagnosed "hyperactive" as a young child back in the seventies when it was assumed the disorder went away with the onset of puberty!
Rating:
Summary: The first book to be included in your ADHD library
Review: Dr. Hallowell & Dr. Ratey have written two books that are considered the gold standard of material on the subject of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This book, and its predescessor Driven To Distraction, share equally in providing the basics about the disorder in children, and adults. The format is easy to read and gives people who are new to understanding the disorder an overview of what it feels like to be ADHD. The chapter on Anger, "The gemlike flame", will take you step by step on how the ADD mind processes an incident that results in frustration and temper outbursts. Only from working with hundreds of people could Hallowell & Ratey detail this information in such an understandable format. In fact, this is the book that allowed me to be diagnosed with ADHD as a 36 year old adult, even though I had been diagnosed "hyperactive" as a young child back in the seventies when it was assumed the disorder went away with the onset of puberty!
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Summary: Helped Me Understand Myself!
Review: I am a 26 year old who found out at 21 that ADD was the reason for all of my adolescent years of frustration. I was playing on an uneven playing field. This book helped me understand what I was diagnosed with as well as how to deal with many of the effects of the "disorder," which I know view as a blessing. I would recommed this book to anyone with ADHD or anyone in a relationship or family with a person who has been diagnosed or who they believe has the symptoms of ADHD.
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Summary: Great info easy to read
Review: I learned everything I always wondered about ADD ADHD bot for kids and adults...how to know if you have it, how to know if they have it, possible drugs and alternate thearpies, how to live with an ADD person. All very easy to read in question/ answer format. Also has detailed bibliography and guide to support groups and some specialists near you.
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Summary: Practical Advice for Non-Medical Management
Review: I purchased this book when my husband was diagnosed with ADD. I had very little experience with the condition and didn't know how to help him. The book was wonderful. It includes so many helpful tips for non-medical management that I was almost overwhelmed with ideas. We slowly tried them out and kept the ones that worked for us and discarded those that didn't. The book also helped me understand the condition. I had a hard time understanding what his world was like but the book really helped with that. It is a must read for any parent or spouse living with an ADD sufferer.
Rating:
Summary: Practical Advice for Non-Medical Management
Review: I purchased this book when my husband was diagnosed with ADD. I had very little experience with the condition and didn't know how to help him. The book was wonderful. It includes so many helpful tips for non-medical management that I was almost overwhelmed with ideas. We slowly tried them out and kept the ones that worked for us and discarded those that didn't. The book also helped me understand the condition. I had a hard time understanding what his world was like but the book really helped with that. It is a must read for any parent or spouse living with an ADD sufferer.
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Summary: I'll show you my disease if you show me yours
Review: If you are reading this, it probably means someone has told you (or you have convinced yourself) that you are the parent of a child with a serious brain disease called ADD which must be cured immediately or else your child will be destined to a future of failure and you a future of interminable stress. It's ok. They told me my child has ADD too. And then, when I thought about it I realized I have ADD too. And then I realized, so does my wife. And then, I realized, so do my parents. So do hers. So do my brothers and sisters... OH my! We all have a frontal lobe disorder and it is killing us all and ruining our lives!!! In fact, my son's teacher recently told me that 5% of all of the children in the school district are diagnosed with ADD! This book reminded yet again how stupid - yes stupid - supposedly intelligent people can be. (Here is a sample of the stupidity: on p. 229 Dr. Hallowell explains why Americans have a higher "incidence" of diagnosed ADD than any other country on Earth: the American gene pool is unique. Since ADD sufferers tend to be "leap-before-you-look" adventurous types and immigration to a new country is a huge risk undertaking which only an impulsive, ADD sufferer would be crazy enough to undertake, America has over the years apparently become a magnet for high-risk adventurous types who tend to be carriers of the ADD gene (which has not been discovered despite considerable effort, I might point out). I have three responses: the explanation is premised on the supposition that ADD is genetic (as is most research to find a "genetic cause" of ADD); (2) if the explanation is true, it makes me think that ADD is a good thing, and we need more "go-getter" ADD high risk adventurous people in our world today and (3) there is a much more plausible explanation: ADD has become part of American culture... where primitive communities might see "possession by evil spirits" we Americans have learned to see "disease." There is a huge industry feeding the ADD craze. BUt that is all it is... a fad, a craze, like bloodletting and witch burning in the middle ages, but with better drugs. The other 334 pages of this book are filled with many equally silly ideas... if only I had more space and more of your attention... So if I am right and the millions of people who think there really is a "disease" called ADD which infects their child (or them), what are we to do? Unfortunately, the medical, pharmaceutical and psychiatry industries of the United States have us against the wall, unfortunately. My child needs help; yours probably does too. Our society and its institutions - starting with pre-schoool - make incredible demands on our children, demands of conformity, compliance, uniformity, and obedience. We are taught to accept all of this as natural when none of it is. But if you want access to the help, you need to play by the rules... even if this means letting the institutions take control of the "treatment" of your child. Just don't forget as all of these "experts" tell you everything that is wrong, deviant, and terrible about your children or you: you - not the state - are the child's only protector from systems, processes, and institutions that may not have your child's interests at heart. Keep your spirits up, good luck and a happy parenting.
Rating: 
Summary: more of the same
Review: If you have Driven to Distraction, don't waste your money on Answers. Dr. Hallowell directily quotes passages from his own book. It's just more of the same, only phrased as questions and answers. Much of the book is filled with repetition even from chapter to chapter.
Rating: 
Summary: Answers to Review
Review: Please disregard the top statement about ADHD being a medical fad. Obviously, he/she has never gone through a day of having ADHD. If this ADHD thing is such a fad, as he/she claims, then explain why studies have shown that well over 50% of those diagnosed with ADHD report major improvements after medication. ADHD research is not perfect, but it has benefited way too many people in this world to pass it off as just an excuse to sell pills. I guarantee that the reviewer would not be diagnosed with ADHD, as he/she suggests. Doctors go through a series of questioning, and you will only be diagnosed unless your symptoms go over a certain threshold. You don't just get labeled with ADHD because you're forgetful or sometimes hyper; you have to display a certain level of symptoms. In extreme cases, it's almost impossible to deny: blurting out comments for no apparent reason, complete inability to sit still, etc.... ADHD research is not perfect. But just because it doesn't work for you or your family does not mean it applies to everyone. I'm sorry that your child was misdiagnosed, but a lot of people are diagnosed and helped. But for those who want to find information, I have (and most psychologists I know) recommended "Driven to Distraction". It's pretty much the most basic book you can find on the subject. If you are one of the fairly small percentage of adults who are constantly frustrated by a brain malfunction that makes you feel stupid (even though you know you're not), then please at least do the research. It couldn't hurt you to arm yourself with more information.
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