Overcoming ADHD: Helping Your Child Become Calm, Engaged, and Focused--Without a Pill (Merloyd Lawrence Books) [Hardcover]

Stanley I. Greenspan (Author), Jacob Greenspan (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2009 | Series: Merloyd Lawrence Books

This wise and informative guide applies Stanley Greenspan’s much admired developmental approach to a very common disorder. In his distinctive and original view, ADHD is not a single problem, but rather a set of common symptoms that arise from several different sensory, motor, and self-regulation problems. As in his highly successful earlier books and in his practice, Greenspan emphasizes the role of emotion, seeking the root of the condition and rebuilding the foundations of healthy development. Overcoming ADHD steers away from the pitfalls of labeling, or of simply stamping out symptoms with medication, and demonstrates Greenspan’s abiding belief in the growth and individual potential of each child.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Publishers Weekly, 6/1/09
“offer[s] the straightforward advice, information and support eagerly sought by parents of special needs kids”

Blogcritics.org, 7/26/09
“A short, to the point, easy to read book promoting behavioral strategies to consider before seeking medication for ADHD. This book will be helpful to parents of young children who have been diagnosed with ADHD (or ADD) and to parents of undiagnosed children who display some degree of what I call 'ADD-ishness'.”

Columbus Parent(OH), August 2009
“Provides a comprehensive approach to treating ADHD effectively and without drugs.”

Blogcritics.org, 8/9/09
“Provides a variety of suggestions a parent, caregiver, teacher, or counselor can follow…I would highly recommend any parent, educator, doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, or minister read Overcoming ADHD and apply its suggestions to their charges, if they seriously want to help a child or adult typically labeled ADHD. The book is written in layman’s terms. It is fascinating. It is extremely well organized. It is hopeful. It is easy to follow. It just might start a more promising life for a problem child.”

BookViews.com
“Addresses the fact that schools have been pushing the ADHD diagnosis (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) now for years and pressuring parents into drugging their children with Ritalin. The author brings 35 years of clinical practice as a child psychologist to bear on the topic.”

InfoDad blog, 9/17
“A bold book, willing to look past the apparent simplicity of using a pill to counter a life-altering condition toward a more difficult and time-consuming approach that has the potential to improve patients’ long-term living conditions…For parents determined not to give psychoactive medicines to children with attention-related disorders, Greenspan points the way toward a potentially excellent alternative approach to treatment, and provides the basics of how to go about implementing it…Greenspan’s ideas are excellent…A thoughtful approach to a serious health problem.”

Midwest Book Review
“It shows how kids can learn to engage, understand their senses and maintain focus without medication and offers an alternative set of ideas for parents and educators seeking different management approaches.”

Metapsychology Online Reviews, 3/28/10
“In reading this volume, parents can be helped in coming to better understand the most up-to-date behavioural patterns their child may develop as they continue to monitor progress, and analyse the changes in previously identified strengths and weaknesses that may underlie their hyperactivity…With the inclusion of several regularly updating website addresses to continue checking in the ‘Resources’ section at the end of the book, Greenspan has offered here a great opportunity for both parents and educational/psychological professionals [who] work with suspected ADHD/ADD cases without immediate resort to psychotropic drugs and/or medical specialists.”

Review

Publishers Weekly, 6/1/09
“offer[s] the straightforward advice, information and support eagerly sought by parents of special needs kids”

Blogcritics.org, 7/26/09
“A short, to the point, easy to read book promoting behavioral strategies to consider before seeking medication for ADHD. This book will be helpful to parents of young children who have been diagnosed with ADHD (or ADD) and to parents of undiagnosed children who display some degree of what I call 'ADD-ishness'.”

Columbus Parent(OH), August 2009
“Provides a comprehensive approach to treating ADHD effectively and without drugs.”

Blogcritics.org, 8/9/09
“Provides a variety of suggestions a parent, caregiver, teacher, or counselor can follow…I would highly recommend any parent, educator, doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, or minister read Overcoming ADHD and apply its suggestions to their charges, if they seriously want to help a child or adult typically labeled ADHD. The book is written in layman’s terms. It is fascinating. It is extremely well organized. It is hopeful. It is easy to follow. It just might start a more promising life for a problem child.”

BookViews.com
“Addresses the fact that schools have been pushing the ADHD diagnosis (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) now for years and pressuring parents into drugging their children with Ritalin. The author brings 35 years of clinical practice as a child psychologist to bear on the topic.”

InfoDad blog, 9/17
“A bold book, willing to look past the apparent simplicity of using a pill to counter a life-altering condition toward a more difficult and time-consuming approach that has the potential to improve patients’ long-term living conditions…For parents determined not to give psychoactive medicines to children with attention-related disorders, Greenspan points the way toward a potentially excellent alternative approach to treatment, and provides the basics of how to go about implementing it…Greenspan’s ideas are excellent…A thoughtful approach to a serious health problem.”

Midwest Book Review
“It shows how kids can learn to engage, understand their senses and maintain focus without medication and offers an alternative set of ideas for parents and educators seeking different management approaches.”

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books (August 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738213551
• ISBN-13: 978-0738213552
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do All Kids with ADHD Need Pills?, November 9, 2009

By 

Regis Schilken "Rege" (Bethel Park, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overcoming ADHD: Helping Your Child Become Calm, Engaged, and Focused--Without a Pill (Merloyd Lawrence Books) (Hardcover)

Author Greenspan's book Overcoming ADHD promises parents, caregivers, and teachers, guidelines for helping children with ADHD--without resorting to pills--the current solution to help such children today. He feels that all too often those who demonstrate ADHD behaviors are put in programs that do not focus on the underlying reasons for a child's difficulty with self-control, paying attention, and remaining focused.

Included in his list of influences affecting "attention" are cultural expectations and possible biological factors. Most importantly, however, Greenspan feels that careful consideration of any child's strengths and weaknesses is the most beneficial way to construct a realistic program for a child who appears hyperactive and inattentive.

In its earliest pages, Overcoming ADHD discusses seven key factors of an interceptive approach. If after a twelve month period of serious attempts to improve these factors, only then should a parent or caregiver seek further professional help for a suspect child. So often, it might seem easier to "give the kid a pill" rather than consistently try to move along the spectrum of steps listed below.

An ADHD Person Can Learn How To:

1. Move their body and its parts in a way that is age-appropriate.

2. Remember the sequence of thought patterns and activities.

3. Reduce over-activity or under-activity.

4. Think more reflectively.

5. Feel self-confident enough to lower anxiety.

6. Interact meaningfully with family members.

7. Live safely in a distracting environment.

Overcoming ADHD provides a variety of suggestions a parent, caregiver, teacher, or counselor can follow, to move a child along all of the seven steps listed above. There are far too many suggestions to mention here. The important thing is that each proposed game, exercise, or activity is explained in easy-to-follow detail and must be consistently used.

Especially important are the activities to help children feel good about themselves. The book tells of Mark, a boy with low self-esteem (#5-above). After talking with both Mark and his parents, it surfaced that Mark's mother was overwhelmed by her son's problems. His father simply felt Mark was acting out in school and tended to be harsh with him.

After some counseling, Mark's father started having hang-out time on a regular basis with his son (#6-above). The two began to bond. Father saw Mark in a different light and took an active role in his interest in magic.

Since Mark had particular difficulty sequencing thoughts and activities (#2-above), his parents worked with an occupational therapist to set up a meaningful program. Mark was slowly taught to remember, and carry out a sequence of directions. Simple magic tricks from a local store became his reward for carrying a sequence of four directions correctly.

Mark's muscular coordination (#1-above) improved with regular use of balance beam activities that increased in difficulty. Eventually, the eight-year-old learned to perform a magic trick while talking and standing on the beam. This improved his overall coordination.

Mark's family and interventionists played many "Regulation" games with him, along with a game Overcoming ADHD calls "Thinking About Tomorrow". There is no need to mention either here since both are adequately explained on pages 112-115. How they helped Mark is fascinating.

The important issue is that this child's abilities improved in many interrelated areas. As they changed, so did his self-esteem and his overall school performance. Did it happen overnight or in a week? No, it took many months, not just one or two. But family, school, and therapists, all working together to pull Mark through the seven steps mentioned above particularly in a loving, safe, dynamic home environment, accomplished a change in this boy that will last a lifetime--and the magic is, it was done without pills.

I would highly recommend that any parent, educator, doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, or minister should read Overcoming ADHD and apply its suggestions to their charges, if they seriously want to help a child or adult--typically labeled ADHD. The book is written in layman's terms. It is fascinating. It is extremely well organized. It is hopeful. It is easy to follow. It just might start a more promising life for a problem child

Other interesting reads:

Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents (Revised Edition)

Parenting Children With Adhd: 10 Lessons That Medicine Cannot Teach (APA Lifetools)

Organizing Solutions for People With Attention Deficit Disorder: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized

The ADD and ADHD Cure: The Natural Way to Treat Hyperactivity and Refocus Your Child

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shows how kids can learn to engage, understand their senses and maintain focus without medication, October 13, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overcoming ADHD: Helping Your Child Become Calm, Engaged, and Focused--Without a Pill (Merloyd Lawrence Books) (Hardcover)

OVERCOMING ADHD: HELPING YOUR CHILD BECOME CALM, ENGAGED AND FOCUSED - WITHOUT A PILL discusses the range of symptoms that form ADHD as a syndrome, relating them to different sensory, motor and self-regulation issues and discussing the role of emotions in the development of the nervous system. It shows how kids can learn to engage, understand their senses and maintain focus without medication and offers an alternative set of ideas for parents and educators seeking different management approaches.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for parents, July 17, 2010

By 

A. Mohan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Overcoming ADHD: Helping Your Child Become Calm, Engaged, and Focused--Without a Pill (Merloyd Lawrence Books) (Hardcover)

This is a well written book, especially for parents or professionals not working as Occupational Therapist. It is very structured, easy to read and gives a lot of practical solutions / games.