Customer Reviews

The Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults Workbook

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book would probably be helpful in dealing with adhd that is hyperactive but if you have the primarily inattentive type...pass on this book. As a matter of fact, there is a quiz to "self-test" yourself. If you are primarily inattentive this test will not be accurate. In fact, as I re-call the author even says something to the effect if you don't have a positive on this test...you aren't adhd. Now, I know the field of adhd has changed and grown... and maybe the book just hasnt caught up. If you are adhd-hyperactive, I can see this book being helpful. If you arent hyperactive I cant see any help at all... in fact someone telling you you don't have something your doctor says you do have is only confusing. If you are a woman...."woman and add" is the best book i have read...and there is alot about inattentive type adhd.

If this is your first ADD book, you'll get a lot out of it. But otherwise you'll find yourself thinking you'd seen the topics put better elsewhere.

For my needs, I think Weiss spends WAY too much time dwelling on the frustration and "abuse" that ADDers have. I'm a newly diagnosed adult, but don't have a lot of emotional baggage like that, that I feel a need to dump. But if you're a "hurtin' pup" in terms of feeling dumped on for your short memory, inability to stick to things, and the like, you could get a lot of support from this book. I think Weiss considers ADDers more fragile that we are, so I felt somewhat talked down to in this book.

I will finish it, just because I don't want to miss anything. And some of the tips for helping you complete projects and stick to your schedule have merit. But most have been covered elsewhere.

BTW, my favorite ADD book so far is Thom Hartmann's "ADD Success Stories". I like the tone, I like his "Hunter/Farmer" theory/metaphor, I like the clinical explanations, and I LOVE the personal stories and tips on how to deal with ADD.

This book was great for me! It was as though the author had been living inside my brain. Some of the issues in this particular book did not particularly pertain to me, but most of them did. I have purchased several of these books and given them to people who have been diagnosed adult ADD or ADHD telling them to return it if they did not like it. If they did like it then they could reimburse me for it. So far 6 of 6 people have sent me a thank you note with a check for repayment. I have just ordered another copy of this book for my fiance to have for his own referance since this book does a much better job of explaining how I think, feel, act etc than I can!

Another book that I read just after being diagnosed and medicated for ADHD is "Safe People" by Cloud and Townsend. It helped me to re-set limits, re-define boundaries, and fine tune my interactions. It is also available on audio!

This was the first book that I read on the subject of adults with ADD, and a lot of the info in there was, for me, an awakening. Upon reading through the various chapters and coming across traits in others, I could point to it and go "Hey! So I'm not just wierd, that's normal for being ADD!" I also liked her attitude that ADD didn't actually mean one had a disorder or a deficit, as every individual who I'd told up to that point that I'd had it had relayed to me just how sorry they were for me that my brain was "that way". She did go a bit heavily on the emotional damage caused by being "differently brained", but her spiel is obviously on the damage done to self-esteem because of this inability to operate "normally". All in all it was a wonderful introductory book, and a wonderful gateway in to further reading and researching on adults with ADD.

I bought this book, suspecting that I might have Adult ADD. I was hoping to get a book that presented a general overview of the condition, with an emphasis on adults. Though the book focuses on adults, I was disappointed because like previous reviewers of this book, I found that it's geared toward those with the hyperactivity vs. inattentive type. Although I could empathize, I couldn't related to many of the stories about extremely dysfunctional relationships and coping styles, so the book wasn't very helpful to me.

I believe that I've never been diagnosed with the condition precisely because of the lack of the hyperactivity symptoms (e.g. acting out behavior in class) that the book focused on. I overcompensated in various areas to function & "succeed" the best I could. I was disappointed that the book didn't really get into this aspect of Adult ADD (overcompensation), and seemed to focus on adults who had "failure after failure" and experienced a great deal of verbal and/or physical abuse as a result, as well.

There were some helpful tips in managing ADD symptoms such as distractability. e.g. She suggested working on pacing of tasks and creating a conducive environment. However, she presented some of the ideas as if all those with ADD would benefit. e.g. She wrote "Sound screens are important," explaining that "white noise" like TV or the radio could help an individual focus on a task. Perhaps, but personally, white noise doesn't work for me, and distracts rather than focuses my attention. I need complete silence, and must wear earplugs to concentrate. I appreciated her inclusion of the white noise idea, but I think it would've been better if she presented it as one option, not a suggestion for everyone.

Grown-ups have ADD too. Lynn Weiss was the first to tell us so, and she brought the concept to national awareness.

Her title, "Attention Deficit Disorder In Adults" mises the pizzazz enjoyed by flashier titled books, but the content is succinct and superb. The much larger "Driven to Distraction" is more thorough, by far, but it also has 100 more pages. Weiss' gives the reader just enough to start the reader exploring ADD seriously for the first time.

Kenneth A. Bonnet Ph. D. is promoted with her, as he penned the introduction. Feel free to skip it; there is nothing useful there.

Just as anecdotal as any other psychology-related popularly written book, the reader will see several case studies to which he or she might relate.

Weiss lists and describes the emotional pain felt by most ADD sufferers, from self-esteem to anger and more.

She presents the positives of ADD, and how having it isn't a condemnation to a life of rags and sad frustrations.

Unlike some other books, Weiss isn't playing the game that ADD is a blessing, but she objectively acknowledges what it is, and what can be done about it. She discusses with candor romantic relationships. There is an excellent question-answer section for friends and family.

The best value comes from the chapter on restructuring. At a certain point, someone with ADD knows what's going on, but what they want to know is how to deal with it. Weiss shows the way with example charts that can realistically applied.

The singular drawback to this book is its need for an update. Research has been exploding with new ideas in medication, diagnoses and management. Weiss tackles all of this in a 60+ page Appendices section, with contact information for support groups, organizations, and sample official letters to interested parties. Year to year, these lists can quickly become out of date.

I'm a big fan of Weiss for the reason that through every one of her books, she's a pragmatist. No silly games of "I think I can, I think I can," but good old-fashioned how-tos.

Other helpful books in the ADD reader's library will be "Driven to Distraction" by Hallowell and Ratey, "Uncommon Gifts" by James Evans (very encouraging, especially for men), and "Managing Attention & Learning Disorders: Super Survival Strategies" by Elaine K. McEwan.

I fully recommend "Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults" by Lynn Weiss.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

If you have ADD, or someone close to you does, read this book. After I read it, I had my wife read it. Know she understands why I do the things I do. This book has been very helpful

I reviewed this book for an Adult ADD group I belonged to, and after reading it found that this text was painfully basic. If you are very green to ADD, pick this book up at the local library as a very light supplement to other resource materials, but do not buy it.

In answer to some of the criticism voiced below, I do recognize the limitations of this book. It isn't really that thorough an examination of the problem. What it does do is provide plenty of examples of ADD as it is likely to be manifested in adults, and it begins to address many of the issues and challenges that these people face.

Adults with ADD were likely never diagnosed as children and have developed ways of coping that many would find admirable. However, whatever mechanisms they've come up with to deal with the challenges they have faced thoughout their lives, there is almost always a certain sense of frustration, a sense that one's full potential has not been reached and may never be. Lynn Weiss addresses these concerns and offers hope for many who may never even have realized they were ADD, who perhaps at best sensed that there was something wrong with them but had no idea what and how to cope with it.

With its case studies, informational appendices and with chapters devoted to issues such as coping strategies, relationships and on -the-job experiences, Lynn Weiss offers a very substantial introduction to the topic. I'm sure that some of the other works cited by reviewers below can only add to one's knowledge. This is definitely a good first step, however.

As the spouse of an ADD husband, I felt nothing but frustration after reading this "Practical Help and Understanding" book. In a nutshell it basically states that an ADD person doesn't have to do anything he/she doesn't want to. They just have to learn to say "no, I don't want to do that." How far is that going to go in a real-life relationship, be it social, work, or personal? And the info is at times so contradictory. For example, consider these two back-to-back contradictory sentences: On p. 113, it says, "Do not do for the person who is not holding up his or her share of the work load. If that person's unpicked-up clothing litters your living space and causes you to feel pain, ask him to pick it up and if he doesn't, either do it yourself or pay to have it done and send him the bill."

The book does include some useful appendices. That's about it as far as I'm concerned.