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melissa_h's review
3.0
No I do not have kids. But I read this book because I wanted to know if I showed any symptoms as a child. I found extremely informative.
emiged's review against another edition
3.0
I greatly appreciate the "reframing" of ADHD symptoms in a positive light. It's very easy to get hung up on the term "disorder" or the fact that it's a diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (how scary does that sound?!) or all the negative feedback from teachers telling you everything your child isn't good at. It's easy to lose sight of the fact that your child is a unique, fabulous person all his own and that just because he doesn't happen to fit the mold that society (in its infinite wisdom - HA!) has declared is appropriate for early childhood education, that isn't necessarily a "deficit."
Creativity, ecological consciousness, interpersonal intuition, exuberance, and emotional expressiveness are valuable qualities that are not always encouraged by the conveyor belt-like educational system, because they take a bit more effort to accommodate or train or reign in. I understand and sympathize with the frustrations of teachers and staff. It's just not possible to tailor-make an education for each individual child in a class of 25.
Dr. Honos-Webb may not appreciate it as she seems strongly in favor of advocating for change within the system, but seeing the emotional trauma my child was experiencing I pulled him out of the public school system. He is less stressed, happier, more enthusiastic about learning, and more himself now that we homeschool, and it's provided the opportunities to reconnect with my child that Dr. Honos-Webb emphasizes. I would have liked to see her address that option as well. Dr. Honos-Webb talks about being your child's advocate, not apologist. While I believe that's vital in framing the discussion with teachers and others, sometimes even advocating isn't enough to make the changes needed for your child's health and well-being.
But even with all that, I think parents need to be careful to make sure that they are teaching their child appropriate social behaviors and not just making excuses. Many of the exercises in the book look like they'd be helpful for this.
With three grown siblings with ADHD, I've had quite a few discussions with them about how their brains work. Two of the three avoid medication, one because he feels it dulls his creativity as a writer and one because of negative reactions from others. The third uses medication as a tool to help her focus on specific tasks when needed. Medication can be a useful tool, along with behavioral therapy and a close, warm, understanding connection with parents, in helping kids with ADHD function productively in society.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
Creativity, ecological consciousness, interpersonal intuition, exuberance, and emotional expressiveness are valuable qualities that are not always encouraged by the conveyor belt-like educational system, because they take a bit more effort to accommodate or train or reign in. I understand and sympathize with the frustrations of teachers and staff. It's just not possible to tailor-make an education for each individual child in a class of 25.
Dr. Honos-Webb may not appreciate it as she seems strongly in favor of advocating for change within the system, but seeing the emotional trauma my child was experiencing I pulled him out of the public school system. He is less stressed, happier, more enthusiastic about learning, and more himself now that we homeschool, and it's provided the opportunities to reconnect with my child that Dr. Honos-Webb emphasizes. I would have liked to see her address that option as well. Dr. Honos-Webb talks about being your child's advocate, not apologist. While I believe that's vital in framing the discussion with teachers and others, sometimes even advocating isn't enough to make the changes needed for your child's health and well-being.
But even with all that, I think parents need to be careful to make sure that they are teaching their child appropriate social behaviors and not just making excuses. Many of the exercises in the book look like they'd be helpful for this.
With three grown siblings with ADHD, I've had quite a few discussions with them about how their brains work. Two of the three avoid medication, one because he feels it dulls his creativity as a writer and one because of negative reactions from others. The third uses medication as a tool to help her focus on specific tasks when needed. Medication can be a useful tool, along with behavioral therapy and a close, warm, understanding connection with parents, in helping kids with ADHD function productively in society.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
sarah_d's review
I'm sure this book is perfectly good, but it lacked enough narrative to keep my interest and the exercises (at least the ones I got to), weren't particularly applicable to my child.
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