Customer Reviews

Heads Up Helping: Teaching Tips and Techniques for Working With ADD, ADHD, and Other Children With Challenges

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a quick and easy read offering practical tips and ideas with every turn of the page. It will be a treasure trove for any parent interested in home schooling a child with ADHD. I especially like this book not only because it offers lots of solid suggestions but also because it does so in the context of REAL family life. No challenges are sugar coated, but hope & joy still permeate this terrific book!

The author has written an easy to read, very helpful book that would be useful to anyone working with an ADHD child. Her own experience and quest to find solutions to problems her children have experienced is evident in the book. While I am a classroom teacher and the author homeschools, I found the book to be quite helpful with ideas I have and will use with various students in my class. It also gave me insight into children diagnosed with ADHD and the trials and victories both they and their family members experience.

When I worked in the public schools, I grew to respect and admire the knowledge and experience of the special education teachers and the teachers that worked with students with learning disabilities. They had training beyond what I had. I saw their demeanors and patience with their students. Because of my experience I have doubted whether a homeschool parent could teach their child at home as well as teachers with specialized education could.

Two weeks ago, I read this book and it changed my mind. It was published about 5 years ago. Melinda is a homeschooled her children all the way through school--kindergarten through high school. Before she had children, she was a speech therapist. And she put that experience to good use being a homeschool mom. I know from watching Eli's speech therapist, that speech therapists are wonderful observers and learners. Ms. Boring's book begins with her story of how she discovered her son had ADHD. In the first 20 pages of her book, I learned so many lessons. I reflected on the things I've said and heard from other moms over the years. I reflected on what I'd do different now walking forward having heard this story out of a desire to love the children I meet who need a little extra understanding.

In her book, Melinda addresses so many facets of teaching, living with, and loving a child with ADD, ADHD, or other learning disabilities. She explains and addresses such issues as distractibility, fidgeting, social skills, adapting curriculum, and developing a child's strengths. I especially enjoyed her discussions of auditory and visual distractibility. I wish I had read such a book back when I was teaching middle school (although it wasn't written yet)! She gives simple and constructive suggestions of how to help children cope. Her suggestions are specific to homeschooling, but I think many of the suggestions would be very helpful for parents with children in private and public schools. Parents can use her suggestions as spring boards to other ideas that might be feasible in a classroom. Ms. Boring's chapter on sensory seeking and avoiding convicted my heart deeply. My middle daughter is very tactile. After reading this chapter, my perspective changed. I need to realize that my daughter "sees" through her touching. I need to train her how to "see" gently and make appropriate requests of her. I can't expect her to go into a building full of glass for an hour and not touch anything. But, I can expect her to go in for a half an hour with close supervision by Mommy. She can handle that.

There is one noticeable topic that she does not address--medication. I have been corresponding with the author and I learned that she did this purposefully because medication is such a controversial topic. It was not a helpful tool for her family. From Melinda, I learned that medications can often have horrible side effects and they are not consistent. When children grow, their bodies often don't continue to absorb the medication the same way. I have had other conversations with friends who've expressed the same feelings to me in the past. I have three friends with children who have been diagnosed as bipolar or extreme ADHD. Yet, I have also heard from a few parents that medication helps. I can see that it is a very personal decision whether or not to choose to have your child take medication.

I mentioned earlier that this book changed my mind that a homeschool parent can teach their child at home as well as the public schools could teach him or her. In the course of reading this book, my respect for Ms. Boring as a fellow homeschooler grew deeply. She was a student of her children. I also know that her experience isn't limited to one child. The Borings have three children. Her oldest son has severe ADHD; her middle daughter does not have any learning disabilities; and her youngest daughter has ADD. She did research throughout their educations. She shares in her book that she diagnosed her son by using a list of symptoms from the DSM around the time he was going to enter kindergarten. She did have that diagnosis confirmed through testing. As she explains in her book, the label of ADHD was helpful because it "put an end to having him mislabeled - as a defiant, disobedient, stubborn, stupid, noncompliant, and more." (p.36) That statement was very insightful to me. I thought back to how often students were spoken of that way in the schools I worked at. After reading this book, I have no doubt that Ms. Boring was better able to teach her children than the schools could have. I also now believe that homeschooling parents can teach children with learning disabilities and ADD/ADHD successfully!

There is one question you might have after reading this book. That question is, "How did she know behaviors were due to her son's ADHD and not misbehavior?" My husband, who did not read the book, could not get the picture of Ms. Boring and her children that I did by reading the book. I could see by reading the book that Ms. Boring cared deeply for the hearts of her children--which I believe is the place all misbehavior begins. In my emailing Ms. Boring, I posed this question to her and she confirmed to me that each parent must observe carefully and seek to know the hearts of her children so that he/she can discern what behavior is misbehavior and what isn't.

So often books and resources within the homeschool world don't extend beyond this little world. This is one book that I wish would. Parents could be equipped with the tools in this book. Educators would enjoy this book of anecdotal research that is easy to read. Honestly, most of the books I review have been published by major publishers. Once in a while I have reviewed a book by an author that has sought to use an independent publisher so that they could get their work published. This is one of those books. I think that is part of what impresses me so much about this book--it isn't one that has been fine tuned by a highly paid editor and given a glamorous cover. It's real and honest. Ms. Boring is down to earth and easy to like in her writing. She's honest with her readers.

I can't give this book a rating that will do it justice. On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I'd give it 5+. There's room for improvement (mostly chapters that could be added), but as it stands this book is a treasure. If you know a Christian parent of a child who has learning disabilities or ADD/ADHD, please pass this recommendation on. There is a burden on my heart that the parents who need to hear this message would.

If you have a child who has ADD/ADHD or a learning disability, you may find Melinda's website called Heads Up Now very helpful. On the website, you'll find many of the resources that worked for her children and resources that she has gathered, such as her fidget bundle.

Lastly, in case you were wondering, how are her children doing now? Did they all graduate from high school? Yes, they did and it sounds like they are doing well.

Please note that I did receive a complimentary copy of this book from the author in e-book form for review. I read the first 20 pages online and then printed out all 172 pages on my printer so that I could read it.

With every page I felt I could substitute my child's name for the name of the book's subject. I realized I wasn't alone in my struggle to raise an ADHD child. I was truly inspired by the
author's ability to think beyond conventional teaching methods. And all this in a humorous format. This book contains many practical & helpful tips.

Hi, I am a parent and homeschool teacher of a 10 year old boy who was diagnosed at age 6 with ADHD. As I began to read this book, I almost began to cry because it was as if she were writing about my life with my son. I find it helpful and inspiring for someone who shares my experiences and frustrations to also add insight and suggestions. The author speaks from a place of experience and knowledge. Her examples, explanations, and suggestions are on point. I highly recommend the book although I have not yet read it to completion. My only concern at this point is that there may not be enough suggestions or offers of solutions to the many difficulties and obstacles that lie ahead. I still think it is a great read.

No new information. More of a story about her child and not much help. Very basic...could have gotten this help from an article. How disappointing.
Do not buy...too many other good ADD/ADHD books on market by people with deeper insights