Customer Reviews

The Everything Parent's Guide To Children With ADD/ADHD: A Reassuring Guide To Getting The Right Diagnosis, Understanding Treatments, And Helping Your Child Focus (Everything (Parenting))

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Finally someone has written a book that seems to understand the problems that parents and kids have dealing with ADD. She knows that medication is not the only answer to ADD and in fact, bravely offers better solutions by way of food, nutrition, sleep, and PATIENCE...all things that can be done without chemical interventions and will bring about lasting life changes.

Although this book describes itself as an objective resource that provides "clear answers and accurate information", in my opinion, that is a complete misrepresentation. It is actually strongly biased against medication and even ADD/ADHD diagnoses. I don't mind the idea of reading books that are both pro- and anti-medication to get a broad perspective, but this book should not advertise itself as a "one-stop" guide when it only presents one point of view. First it spends one hundred pages trying to convince you that your child may perhaps have lead poisoning, food allergies, or may just be "creative" -- and while these are certainly good things to check out, the book description does not accurately describe how much time is spent on these alternative explanations. There are only a few pages on stimulant medications, most of which is spent heavily criticizing them as pushed by drug companies / horrible side effects / leading to drug abuse, etc. As a parent considering medication, I really needed more than just this brief, biased glimpse at the subject. The "Fact!" sections are a complete joke, in which the author refers to a mysterious "study" which supports her argument, but fails to cite the study or even provide the names of the researchers so you can read it for yourself. I don't understand how this could pass through even the most relaxed editing process to get published. The last hundred pages is devoted to describing how bad parenting is probably responsible for most of the rampant misdiagnosing of ADD/ADHD. Here's a quote from p.125 of the book that pretty much sums up the author's point of view: "Properly used, many over-the-counter treatments produce fewer debilitating side effects than prescription medications. But remember that you are still sending the same wrong-headed, very dangerous message to your child: pills cure problems. Every child (and every adult!) becomes restless and inattentive when bored. It is normal to be upset over problems and to rail at being confined and controlled. The best non-prescription treatments are parenting classes and family counseling. So sign up!" I highly doubt Dr. Sonnes has parented an ADD/ADHD child. To suggest that such children are perfectly normal and just need better parenting is outright insulting and insensitive. I highly recommend the books by Dr. Hallowell instead. He had ADD himself and has parented ADD children, and in addition is a medical doctor, but is not as biased toward medication as you might expect. He still recommends plenty of alternative approaches, but at least he properly backs up all his assertions with real information.

This is the ideal book for people who'd like to tell others that their pediatrician or child study team has it all wrong because their kid actually has heavy metal poisoning, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, bad nutrition, ineffective parenting, creative genius, or an alternative learning style.
The author writes well and does offer some useful suggestions in child behavior management. However, she appears to have done only the minimal research into ADHD that is required to take snappy pot shots (often in the form of call-outs) at anything that passes for accepted wisdom in this field.
No doubt there is room for debate, but there are many much more informative, more balanced resources if you are genuinely interested in helping a child diagnosed with ADHD. If, on the other hand, you want at all costs to avoid accepted medical treatment -- or are trying to undermine someone else's attempts to help a child -- this is the book for you.

As a person with ADHD, and the mother of a child with ADHD, I agree with some other reviewers that this book was biased and, in some cases, completely misleading. My daughter suffered (and I mean really suffered) with ADHD symptoms for 3 years before we finally turned to medication. My daughter's wonderful doctors (including her pediatrician, her therapist, and a child psychiatrist) all wanted to try a variety of techniques and treatments and never even suggested medication until it became quite clear that her situation was deteriorating and she had reached the point where she could not function on any reasonable level at school. We used behavior modification techniques, which worked slightly, until they didn't work anymore at all. We tried dietary changes, which never made even the smallest difference. We tried vitamin, omega-3, and other types of supplements, which made no difference at all. My daughter has always had plenty of activity and exercise, and has always slept well, so lack of physical activity and/or sleep was not an issue. I even took her to a neurologist for participation in a sleep study to make sure she was achieving deep sleep, in case that was a contributing factor. Some of these things were recommended by the doctors, and some things were based upon my own research into possible treatments. In desperation (after my daughter's ability to control herself and complete ANY work at school completely collapsed), we finally tried medication, and it quite frankly changed my daughter's life. I completely believe that way too many children are misdiagnosed and medicated, or even properly diagnosed but prematurely medicated; however, that does not mean that there are not people who benefit from, and truly require, medication. I have never needed, and do not take, medication for my ADHD as I am able to cope without it. Hopefully, as my daughter ages, she will develop techniques to do the same. However, she is not currently in that place. Despite a summary on the back cover that indicates the author will "help you weigh the pros and cons of medication," the section containing the "pros" apparently escaped me. The author actually states at one point that the vast majority of ADHD cases are diet-related, and says has been proven through research; however, I have read pages upon pages of research results into this subject, and I didn't find this to be the case at all. As with all research topics, results vary, and not all studies use sound research techniques or "good science." That said, I found plenty of data indicating that while some children's symptoms are diet-related, this is far from the majority (perhaps those children were suffering from the affects of a food allergy, not "real" ADHD at all). Now, I admit I became so disgusted I did not finish this book, so perhaps the author's tune changes later on; however, judging by some other reviews I've seen, this does not seem to be the case. I really didn't find any helpful information in this book. If it helps other people, than I'm happy and grateful for them. But people need to beware of the serious bias against what I've seen with my own eyes has worked in my family.

I have read the majority of this particular book, and it is definitely biased against medication use in children. The author does provide some useful alternatives for managing symptoms; however, I am concerned about the multiple opinions in the book that are presented as 'facts.' I have gleaned some useful information from this book, but have decided that I need to purchase an additional, more objective resource.

I purchased this book because I found "The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Dyslexia" very useful and unbiased. However, this book was written by a different author and clearly biased against medication. I agree that medicating children should be a last resort, however, when I read on page 141 that this author says that "Ritalin has been called 'a chemical lobotomy' because the results are similar" to surgical lobotomy, I lost faith in her objectivity. If you want a book to support your decision to not medicate, this book is for you. If you want an objective analysis of the alternatives, go somewhere else.

I will just put my letter to Dr. Sonna. It sums up the way I feel about this book. This book literally changed my son and I's lives. You owe it to your child to read this before you medicate them. Please trust me on this.

Dear Dr. Sonna,

I had to send you this email because I'm about to burst with gratitude. Your book was so insightful, so down-to-earth, all the things a parent could wish for when they are broken-hearted and travel-weary from searching for answers. I am actually going to take this book to my son's teacher and gently encourage her to read it.

I especially enjoyed and appreciated the fact sections throughout and how you encouraged parents to become lobbyists and advocates and pointed out the built-in flaws in our legislation that allows for pharmaceutical companies to benefit from the way diagnosis is currently set up. I agreed whole-heartedly with all of your suggestions and was delighted to see someone not shy away from what could be deemed politically-charged statements.

So excuse my run-on sentences and please know that you have shored me up when I needed it the most, which of course means you have shored up my son. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reminding me I am his only true advocate in a way no one else will ever be. What a wonderful gift you have and how fortunate we are that you chose to share it. I sincerely hope that many blessings come your way for the good work you have done.

Much Gratitude,

Cathy Piper-Lally

The Everything Parent's Guide To Children With ADD/ADHD: A Reassuring Guide To Getting The Right Diagnosis, Understanding Treatments, And Helping Your Child Focus (Everything: Parenting and Family)
Although this book is primarily for parents of children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, it is also helpful for spouses of adults with ADD/ADHD. I have found the information to be valuable all the way around and this book has a permanent place on my bookshelf.