Answers to Distraction

This a great AD/HD resource. The book is written in a very ADD friendly Q & A format. This book will anser many commonly asked AD/HD related questions. Many of the questioned answered are ones that you may have always wanted to know but were afried to ask. This a great book to add your AD/HD Library.

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!

This tape along with it's predecessor Driven To Distraction are must "reads". Like many others that are faced with the fact that they have ADHD or ADD, I too have difficulty getting through an entire book that is so full of information. But this audio version was a savior for me. I am a firm believer in books on tape and these ones helped me learn about myself so fully that it brought tears to my eyes (thankfully I wasn't driving at the time). I have two sons that have been diagnosed with ADD and have made marked improvement in school since we found out and started treating them. But these tapes helped me focus on the fact that I too suffer from the disorder and how it has channelled my life through the years. I would whole heartedly reccommend these tapes for anyone that has an interest in these disorders, from teachers to parents to sufferers like myself. Also the books by Russell A Barkley, he is a VERY thoughtful man that also has tapes available.

The book's question and answer format is a perfect vehicle for finding and refinding essential information about ADD."Answers to Distraction" relies less on the first person stories of "Driven", focusing instead on delivering the appropriate amount of information for a specific question.The books logical organization around chapter topics lets you concentrate your reading. It's a great book to keep handy.

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!