Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco: Successful Parenting Without Drugs

What an amazing book!!!!!!!!!!!!! My life and my child's behavior has changed so dramatically!! The book states that you will see results in 2 weeks, we saw results in one!!! It is hard work to stick with this program but if you do the results are amazing!!! There is so much less yelling and nagging and reminding in our home. There is actually peace. Once I did the research about the commonly used ADHD drugs and there potential side effects I was mortified and resolved to find a drug free way to help my four year old before she starts kindergarten this fall. Things are not perfect but there is such a dramatic change that even her preschool teachers are asking me what I did to bring about this change. DO THE RESEARCH ABOUT DRUGS!!!!!!!!! IN MY OPINION THEY SHOULD BE USED ONLY IN THE MOST EXTREME OF CIRCUMSTANCES! Try this first. If you can stick with it it works. Sometimes its hard. I even had to put up a "How to to discipline my daughter" reminder on the refridgertor to remind me not to go back to the old ways. But if I stick to it, it really works. To be honest I did not really enjoy my child very much before, She was so hyper and unfocused and didnt seem to listen to anything anyone said. We had tried everything. I read several other books, gave her time outs, took toys and privaledges away, sent her to bed early and about everything else I could think of and it never phased her. I almost gave up and figured and ADHD child really couldnt control herself and this was just the way things were going to be. I had nightmares of her entering kindergarten and the teachers calling every day to complain about what a disruptive and uncontrollable child she was. Now we speak. Her self confidence has increased and she is actually cute again. She is proud of herself and her behavior. Thank you to the author for literally changing my and her life. I STRONGLY URGE ALL PARENTS TO GIVE IT A TRY!!!! WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE? IF YOU WERE LIKE ME YOU TRIED EVERYTING ELSE ALREADY.

I bought this book seeking help for my unruly 5 year old child, who certainly fit the ADHD description on the "diagnosis" checklists, but was too young to actually be diagnosed. I wanted to do something about her behavior before she got into school. I was not faced with the medication question at the time, and was hoping to avoid it altogether.This book was great. The behavior modification program he describes worked wonderfully. It has transformed our child and our family dynamic greatly. What the program does is put the consequences of the child's behavior squarely on the child's shoulders. "Punishment" is a lengthy (10+ minutes) timeout in a boring room. (Spanking is only advocated if necessary in order to get a child to stay in the chair, and then on a very limited basis. It is not a regular part of the timeout.)The theory, as I understand it, is that this type of child loves stimulation, and the absence of it -- sitting in a chair in a boring room with nothing to look at or do -- is an effective punishment. Instead of pleading with my child or yelling at her or cajoling her, etc., I simply say "timeout" and off she goes. (And yes, amazingly, she does go to and stay in the chair, without being spanked. Don't ask me why, but she does.) At the end of the time she has to be able to tell me why she was sent. I can think of only one occasion on which she really did not know why. I lent my book to a neighbor whose son fit the general ADHD profile, and she had similar results. She has since recommened it to 5 others.I don't know how the author's research stacks up scientifically. Again, I was not looking for drug information. But I feel that he at least makes a strong argument against the drugs, and that his behavior program is a good one to try before resorting to the drugs.It is not easy for a parent to accept that maybe a more effective parenting style works with this child. I have two older children who are well behaved and have never needed this much work to parent. But it was amazing to see how once my child had to suffer the consequences of her own behavior, she was able to turn it around. One example: she had a regular appointment at a place that was filled with toys and so was very difficult to leave when it was time to go home. The people there liked to talk about how she "had trouble with transitions," which meant that I would either spend 5-10 minutes cajoling her to leave, while I and her siblings waited and I fumed, or carry her out crying, again with me fuming. The only person who was stressed out by this scene was me, Once I implemented the CSP program, I would tell her to leave. If she didn't comply, we left under the usual conditions, except I wasn't fuming, because I knew I could address it once we got home. When she got home, I would calmly tell her timeout, and then leave her there for 30 minutes, without telling her why she was going. Every time, at the end of the timeout, she could tell me why she had been sent. It took abou

After reading all the reviews for this book...I thought that it desperately needed a review from a parent who read and practiced the book. I am a graduate student in Social Work and a mom to a child that I DID NOT want to medicate. I wanted to try behavioral approach first. I can tell you that after two weeks my child's behaviors improved at home by 90%. It has now been 3 months and his behaviors at school have improved but are not completely gone. So in the next few weeks we plan to put in place the report card system. I know alot of professionals will say that it hasn't been long enough to evaluate. So I will post again at the 6 month mark and then the 1 year mark and let you all know how it is going. I don't think that this book is meant as a Professional Journal it is meant for parents...like me...that hear over and over again what a disjustice we are doing to our children by NOT medicating. Well BRAVO to Dr. Stein for standing up and saying that it is possible to have an IA/HM child that can function appropriately...without the use of stimulants.

I bought this book because I was told that my son showed some ADD tendencies. I was pleasantly surprised that this book provides excellent parenting tips for all children, ADD or not. Whether or not my son actually has these traits, I now feel equipped with skills to effectively discipline and to help him learn self control.

I am a practicing pediatrian with a heavy emphasis on behavioral problems. After reading Dr. Stein's former book RITALIN IS NOT THE ANSWER, although skeptical because so much of conventional "wisdom" about managing ADD was challenged, I cautiously began to offer this approach to select parents. The results were impressive in several cases, and this fueled my desire to learn more about Dr. Stein's approach. Having now begun to offer the CSP (Skilled Caregivers Program) for any parent who prefers a non-medication method of dealing with ADD/ADHD behaviors, I continue to experience success in a number of cases where previously medication offered the only hope for improvement. The current volume amplifies on what Dr. Stein has previously written, and adds a number of areas to supplement the fundamental behavioral premises and techniques. Having had an opportunity to read the manuscript twice prior to its current availability, I am most impressed and unhestitatingly recommend it for any parent dealing with this issue and for professionals who would like to be able to help parents to manage their child's behavior problems effectively without having to resort to medications. A chapter on Dr. Stein's ideas about why we may be experiencing such an explosion of the behaviors defining what we have labelled as ADD/ADHD is outstanding and thought-provoking. I agree with his overall assessment that this behavioral syndrome likely represents basically a culturally derived phenomenon rather than a biological or neurological one. The discussion of both the importance of, and how to carry out, positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior is outstanding and provides the book a commendable balance while dealing with oppositional behavior. I encourage fellow professionals who might initially hesitate to consider seriously Dr. Stein's conceptualization and recommended approach, to do themselves a favor and read this book.S. DuBose Ravenel, M.D, F.A.A.P.