16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Of Different Minds was perfect for my situation, February 20, 2009
This review is from: Of Different Minds: Seeing Your AD/HD Child Through the Eyes of God (Paperback)
This book was an answer to prayer. My 14-year-old was finally diagnosed ADD after six years of struggling in school with several learning differences. I picked up this book right after my daughter started medication and before I met with all of her teachers to discuss her difficulties in school. The book spoke to my mind and heart on so many levels. It's reassuring and even lists benefits of ADD; it offers practical advice; it includes countless ideas and resources; and it is written to span the lives of young children through college and on to adulthood. I can relate to so much in this book, and it has helped me through a tough time. My husband now wants to read the book because of what I've shared with him. We're a five-hour drive from Dallas, but we may consider consulting with Dr. Angelotti if the need arises. In the meantime, thank you, Dr. Angelotti! PS We can tell after two weeks that medication is making a difference in my daughter's ability to focus. Her grades are much improved!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Has helped us understand ADHD like never before, June 10, 2009
This review is from: Of Different Minds: Seeing Your AD/HD Child Through the Eyes of God (Paperback)
This is the most informative source on ADHD that we have seen, and we've been dealing with it for 15 years. Angelotti has LIVED what she writes. They have multiple children with learning disorders.
* First, it is well researched. They have "gone to the moon and back" searching for answers in helping their kids.
* Second, it is personal. She shares many first-person examples of issues and how they learned to handle them. She's frank about what worked and what didn't.
* Third, she has developed good connections with top-of-the-line medical resources and excellent home school products that she has used to great advantages.
* And fourth, she writes well. When we got into sections that especially addressed some of our challenges, we just couldn't put it down. Although it's a book primarily for parents of ADHD children, professionals should read it as well. Our psychologist had not heard of some of the recent innovations described in the book, but he has now! For the price, you can't go wrong. We think you'll be very pleased.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wish I Could Recommend, August 9, 2011
This review is from: Of Different Minds: Seeing Your AD/HD Child Through the Eyes of God (Paperback)
As a special education teacher, I wish I could recommend this book to my parents, but I can't. It's not the religious viewpoint that I object to, it's the worldview.
I felt that this book was written by and targeted to a very narrow demographic: upper-middle-class happily-married Christian stay-home moms who have the privilege of choosing whether or not they will go back to work after they become parents, and who can afford four-year university educations for their children with average or above-average IQs.
I was initially surprised by the subtle (and not-so-subtle) put-downs of "selfish" (p. 12) working mothers who consign their children to daycare, which the author equates with third-world orphanages, where children are subjected to sensory and cultural deprivation (pp. 30-31).
Then, I was disappointed by the insensitivity to cognitively-impaired and developmentally delayed students. Dr. Angeloti takes pains to emphasize that the appropriate term for her own children is learning difference, not learning disability, but then she has no qualms about referring to developmentally delayed children as "mentally retarded" (pp. 33-34), which many special education professionals, parents, and students would find offensive.
Early in the book, Dr. Angelotti also seems clearly biased against what she calls "learning a trade," and relegates this to "mentally retarded" students and students who are "bitter and angry" (pp. 16, 34, 60). Much later in the book, Chapter 5 to be exact, she comes around to discussing "trade school" as an option for some students,and she assures us that "others have chosen trade school and gone on to be very successful in their lives" (p. 121), but she has already made it clear that she feels college is the best and most desirable placement for all students, which in my professional experience simply isn't true.
There is much useful information in this book, but it is significantly overshadowed by its shortcomings. If you are an upper-middle-class happily married Christian stay-home mom whose children are average to above-average intelligence and college-bound, this is the book for you. If not, I would recommend looking elsewhere.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No