Customer Reviews

Superparenting for ADD: An Innovative Approach to Raising Your Distracted Child

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After a decade of experience as the parent of an ADHD child, I feel that Superparenting for ADD is the first book that parents new to ADHD should read. It offers valuable strategies to help your child reach his/her full potential. I wish it had been available when I was first learning about ADHD.

As a professional educator, I think this book should be at the top of the reading list for both parents and teachers that have and know children with ADHD. It offers valuable strategies to help in the day-to-day challenges of raising and teaching the ADHD child.

In addition to the message of Unconditional Love and other important themes in this book for raising a distracted child, Superparenting offers in Chapter 9, concise and valuable information about treating ADD: Changes in Lifestyle (Sleep, Diet, Exercise and Positive Human Contact), providing Structure, Counseling, and Medication. Appendix A offers equally valuable information on using Behavioral Strategies to help your child improve his or her behavior. These two sections alone justify the purchase of this book.

In addition to this and Dr. Hallowell's other fine books, you should consider looking at books written by Thomas E. Brown and Russell A. Barkley. Hallowell, Brown and Barkley each have websites with informative articles for parents, teachers and others.

Please note that while Hallowell prefers the term ADD over ADHD, but this book is really Superparenting for ADHD.

Both fathers of ADD children themselves, Dr. Hallowell & Dr. Jenson, do an excellent service here reminding us parents to stay focused on the most important factor of all in raising any child (with or without ADHD) ... Unconditional Love.

This book is upbeat, positive and easy reading. It helps you deal with all the parenting challenges you face at school and at home while raising a child with ADD. But more importantly it helps you see the gifts of these children in a much brighter light.

The practical strength-based techniques they give you in this book show you how to put the talents, charms, and positive essence of your child ahead of any shortcomings associated with ADD.

This book is clearly outlined and organized and gives you a specific game plan that includes:

* UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Tune out the diagnosticians and labelers and simply notice and nourish the spirit of your child for who he is. Providing this unshakable base of support will set the tone for all interactions to come.

* VIEWING THE MIRROR TRAITS There are positive sides of the negative symptoms associated with ADD: stubbornness = persistence; impulsiveness = creativity; intrusiveness = eagerness. By recognizing the mirror traits, you avoid the ravages of shame and fear.

* THE CYCLE OF EXCELLENCE Use this critical 5-step process to help a child develop self- and social awareness. Nurture an environment in which a child can safely take risks, reserve time to let a child dabble as a way to learn, encourage playful practice, support mastery of a skill (whatever the skill may be), and then recognize a child's accomplishments.

* IDENTIFYING AND TAPPING THE SOURCE Pinpoint your child's inner, conative strengths, which drive what he naturally and spontaneously does, as opposed to what he is told to do or feels he must do. Your child will do his best when allowed to use these conative strengths.

If you're the parent of a child with ADD or ADHD you should definitely check out this practical step-by-step advice. May it help you transform what is too often labeled a "lifelong disability" into a "lifelong blessing."

While the authors are upbeat and encouraging, they are pushing an online evaluation tool to identify your child's strengths. Nice idea, but it costs $ for another report about your child, and very little guidance on how to use it. You have to trust that the report will give you the advice you're seeking, and didn't find in the book.

I bought the CD of this book and truly enjoyed it. I passed it along to my daughter - the mother of our loved ADD child. The message of the book is to love and treasure your child and see his/her positives. That is good with any child, of course, but it is a reminder for parents of a child who is a little more challenging. This book helps to point out some special positives of the ADD child.

The narrator of the CD is absolutely perfect. He had a sympathetic voice, but not syrupy. He made it very enjoyable to listen to the CD while I drove.

I listened to the book a few times before passing it on, but I could easily listen many more times. I think I'm more cognizant of the pluses of ADD now and have changed my language a bit when talking with my grandson.

I really enjoyed the book. Sometimes it is nice to learn you are not alone in feeling the way you do. I found out through reading the book that I really understand my son and that all the loving I give my son is never too much. I advocate for my son always, an it is ok, I am not spoiling him, I am supporting him.

This book, whatever its practical or emotional usefulness to parents, needed to be cut to about half its length (but then I guess the price would have to come down, eh?). At some point, I stopped reading and started skimming. Then, I stopped skimming and gave up. Too many anecdotes. Too many promises of help before the alleged help comes. Too much repetition and redundancy.

Kids with ADHD have Ferrari brains and Volkswagon breaks -- there, you just read half the book.

This book was a refreshing perspective on a challenging situation. It gave me the desire to unwrap my sons "gifts" instead of treating his "issues."

As a grandparent of a 3 year old and a life long ADD'er, this book provided excellent information. In fact even if you don't have anyone in the family with ADD and you think you might have ADD, it worth a read.
I would recommend any of Edward Hallowell books on ADD, I learned much from each one.

This book is a refreshing approach to parenting children with ADD. I wish I had read it years ago when my child was first diagnosed. It is written in an easy-to-read, very interesting way that keeps you wanting to finish the book. It also has some very practical tips. Most important, it gives a parent hope at a time when that seems impossible.

As a professional Special Educator and an AD/HD Coach I was thrilled to read Hallowell and Jensen's Superparenting For ADD. This book is precisely the positive and practical approach necessary to empower young people with ADD and their parents to be successful in education and in life. Too, it is full of wonderful and useful resources (other books, websites, schools, etc.). If there is one book parents should read on ADD... this is it! I have bought numerous copies for my clients.