The ADHD-Autism Connection: A Step Toward More Accurate Diagnoses and Effective Treatment [Paperback]

Diane M. Kennedy (Author), Temple Grandin (Foreword), Rebecca S. Banks (Contributor), Paul T. Elliott (Contributor), Carl Daisy (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 19, 2002

At last, long-awaited answers to the questions you’ve been asking. Help for frustrated ADHD patients and their families. (As well as those with autism, PDD, Asperger’s syndrome, and other related conditions.)

Attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is one of the most rapidly growing diagnoses of our generation. Often the diagnosis fails to provide real help, leaving patients, doctors, and families at a loss to know what to do next. But for the first time ever, new insights into the overwhelming number of similarities between Autism and ADHD are giving those with ADHD genuine hope.

For years, the label of Autism has carried a negative connotation. Parents were afraid to admit the diagnosis and banished the term from discussion. Finally, The ADHD-Autism Connection gives parents, educators, and doctors a reason to embrace autism with a renewed sense of hope and understanding. This book will show how these understandings can minimize the frustration, misdiagnoses, and misunderstandings ADHD sufferers and their families face.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

At last, long-awaited answers to the questions you've been asking. Help for frustrated ADHD patients and their families. (As well as those with autism, PDD, Asperger's syndrome, and other related conditions.)

Attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is one of the most rapidly growing diagnoses of our generation. Often the diagnosis fails to provide real help, leaving patients, doctors, and families at a loss to know what to do next. But for the first time ever, new insights into the overwhelming number of similarities between Autism and ADHD are giving those with ADHD genuine hope.

For years, the label of Autism has carried a negative connotation. Parents were afraid to admit the diagnosis and banished the term from discussion. Finally, The ADHD-Autism Connection gives parents, educators, and doctors a reason to embrace autism with a renewed sense of hope and understanding. This book will show how these understandings can minimize the frustration, misdiagnoses, and misunderstandings ADHD sufferers and their families face.

About the Author

Diane M. Kennedy is a former state advisory board member of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD),a longtime member of the National Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) and the Autism Society of America (ASA) Her husband and three sons each have various disorders discussed in this book. Paul T. Elliott, M.D., has twenty years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. He serves on the board of professional advisors with ADDA and is coauthor of ADHD and Teens: A Parent’s Guide to Making It Through the Tough Years. Carl Daisy is a former national board member of the Autism Society of America (ASA). An active parent advocate for Autism Spectrum Disorders. He is the father of three children, two with Autism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (March 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578564980
• ISBN-13: 978-1578564989
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holistic Approach to ADHD Gives Insight, March 26, 2002

By 

Stacye (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The ADHD-Autism Connection: A Step Toward More Accurate Diagnoses and Effective Treatment (Paperback)

This book is a must read for anyone (Parents, Educators, Professionals, Individuals) seeking to better understand themselves or those around them who suffer from charactistics associated with ADHD/Autism. The ADHD Autism Connection gives ground-breaking insight into the most significant disorders of our time. Diane Kennedy steps back to look at two different labels that fail to encompass the whole. Like ships passing in the night, the medical communities of ADHD and Autism have failed to see themselves in one another. Finally individuals, parents and educators can see the whole picture. The Author's personal experience as a mother of three children with ADHD/Autistic tendancies provides encouragement and hope as well as the insight only a mother possesses. Chapter 3 focuses on the similarities between autism and ADHD highlighting the obvious connection which serves as the breeding ground for ineffective treatment and misdiagnosis in many children. Chapter 8 has some thoughtful information contributed by Travis Nay about the individual uniqueness of our brains. I have personally attended his seminar and highly recommend it. The experience transformed my parenting! His web sight is listed in the resource section of the book. I would encourage everyone seeking understanding on this topic to read The ADHD Autism Connection. Diane Kennedy's book will surely prove to be a pivotal turning point in the way we view ADHD.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, wonderful, and astounding, November 4, 2002

By 

Romantic heart (Greenville, RI USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The ADHD-Autism Connection: A Step Toward More Accurate Diagnoses and Effective Treatment (Paperback)

I was so amazed at how accurate this book is on describing my 12 yr old son. When a book is written from a parent of a special needs child, it means more for they know what it is like to cope and deal with a special needs child. My son was first dz with ADHD, then it was just Aspergers. I tried telling doctors that he has both for I read so much info on both ADHD and Aspergers. It was either one or the other to them. This book was amazing for I know I'm not alone. It's not easy to raise my son, but he's my world. So easy to read and understand. I felt as though this book was written for and about my son. Must have for every parent, family member, and friends of ADHD/Asperger child. This book will give you more insight and coping skills to deal with doctors, schools, and everyone who doesn't understand what it is like to live with an Aspie child. I recommended it to his teacher and counselor. Thanks so much for this book, wish it was published years ago.

69 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars ADHD advice from Evangelical Christian publisher?, August 27, 2004

By 

Aspie Mom ":)" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The ADHD-Autism Connection: A Step Toward More Accurate Diagnoses and Effective Treatment (Paperback)

What a disappointment. After reading the great reviews on Amazon, I was very much looking forward to this book.

After reading one chapter though, I went to the Internet to do a little research -- I was sure this book must be self-published, as it reads more like a term paper than like a professionally edited book about autism and ADHD. In fact, what I found is that publisher WaterBrook Press is "an autonomous evangelical religious publishing division of Random House." OK, that would explain the bible quotes. I would've preferred to know that before I bought this book. But to be fair, the religious overtones are fairly innocuous. No, my real problem is that I don't believe the publisher/editor has any deep understanding of the subject, and therefore didn't hold this book to the same standards that Future Horizons or JKP would have.

I DO believe that the connection between ADD/ADHD and Autism/Asperger needs to be delved into. Unfortunately, this book doesn't do a very good job of it. While the author points out the many things that ADHD and autism/Asperger Syndrome have in common, she virtually ignores their differences (e.g. an aspie's intense resistence to change, or their preoccupation with specific subjects -- very defining elements of the disorder). If this was the only book you read about autism and asperger, you'd come out with a very poor understanding of those diagnoses.