Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults: A Different Way of Thinking [Paperback]

Lynn Weiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2005

ADD in Adults enjoys steady sales year after year. Since its last revision in 1997, dozens of new treatments and philosophies about ADD and ADHD have met with storms of controversy and great media attention. As I've seen her do time and again, Lynn Weiss cuts through the noise and gets down to the point in a human, caring, and professional way. People turn to the Weiss library for a breath of fresh air on the ADD turmoil. Is it an allergy? A chemical imbalance? A genetic thing? Lynn's answer: "Who cares?" The new edition would not only touch on and dispel the most recent clinical findings, it would also emphasize the bigger perspective, focusing on the humanitarian, economic, empowerment, and diversity issues facing all of us on the ADD continuum today.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing; 4th Edition edition (September 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589792378
• ISBN-13: 978-1589792371
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #510,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Helpful Book!, May 12, 2007

By 

J. P. Watkins - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults: A Different Way of Thinking (Paperback)

This book has been a great help to me. It puts forward a very enlightened view of ADD by referring to it as a "brain style." What does the author mean by that? Although this is not how Lynn Weiss puts it in her book, I think it sums up what she believes about the basic nature of ADD: Having ADD is like being born left handed in a world that does not understand or even recognize left handedness as a possibility.
So ADD, like hand dominance, is simply a way of being. Unfortunately ADD has much greater consequence in our lives than being left handed, and to make things more difficult, it is much harder to see. Since ADD is not readily apparent, understood, or acknowledged in our society, people with it suffer greatly without fully underatnding what is going on or realizing why they feel so bad/stupid/wrong/broken.
I have known I am ADD for about 3 years, but even after consulting several professional, I never got the useful sort of information and insights that I found in this book. Of great help has been the information on how ADD affects relationships and on how many of the pathologies associated with ADD develop not from ADD but rather from our frustrating interactions with a society/family that is functionally alien to us and indifferent/ignorant to our needs as well as our gifts.
At the moment, I am in the process of divorce with a wonderful spouse who has simply run out of energy to deal with me and my
ADD. I am pretty sure that if I had only found this book a yearor so earlier, the insights on ADD and relationships would have helped us recognize that ADD was at the root of our difficulties, seek appropriate help, make accommodations or changes in our lives and, and preserve our marriage. I plan to get the ADD workbook as well as the ADD and the workplace books that she has written.
In short, I think this book is a great explanation and introduction to ADD and should be read by everyone with ADD as well as their spouse and family. Armed with the information in this book you will know what to look for as you seek a professional to help you cope and thrive with ADD. This knowledge will prevent you from thinking, as I did, that you are getting good professional help when in fact, the professionals you are counting on may well not have a clue!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable Focus on Relationships, January 13, 2008

By 

Dr. Lynn Daugherty "Psychologist, Author" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults: A Different Way of Thinking (Paperback)

This book really shines in its descriptions of how the behaviors of adults with ADHD affect interactions and relationships with those around them. Dr. Weiss also offers helpful and practical solutions for dealing with the daily problems that arise in these relationships and interactions.

Many good books for adults with ADHD have appeared in the last few years, and like most of the others, this one provides scientifically accurate information about symptoms, causes, and treatments of ADHD. Its insightful information about relationships, its practical approaches to problem solving, and its encouraging tone make it stand out as one of the most valuable for adults with ADHD and for those who care about them.

In my Clinical Psychology practice, I find this book especially useful in helping adult clients with ADHD recognize exactly how their behaviors affect their spouses, friends, and co-workers. If these others can be persuaded to read the book, it also helps them see that many of the infuriating behaviors they have to deal with come from ADHD rather than from the client's personal failings or purposeful choices to be difficult.

- Dr. Lynn Daugherty, Bestselling Author of the Award Winning Classic
Why Me? Help for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse (Even if they are adults now), Fourth Edition

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very positive book, October 27, 2006

By 

Katrina "Katrina" (St. paul, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults: A Different Way of Thinking (Paperback)

This immensely readable and commonsense book offers a different way of looking at ADD. The author, a practicing psychotherapist, has ADD and has raised an ADD child. She champions classifying ADD as a "brainstyle" instead of a disorder, which I find refreshing. My husband and I have an adult child who was diagnosed with ADD in his early 20's after a bout with depression, and ADD runs very strongly in both of our families. We both have ADD brainstyles and can identify with this book, and especially with the pain and loss of self-esteem our very bright but very ADD ("active entertainer") son suffered growing up in a linear world. As the author says, ADD people are truly gifted--they are often extremely sensitive, creative,spontaneous, perceptive, intense, down to earth, and fun! I highly recommend this book for any adult with ADD.