A Guide to ADHD Books for the Distracted Parent

ADHD & Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table, Blake Taylor A college freshman with ADHD writes about his childhood struggles, which include getting into and out of mischief (the aforementioned living room fire and rocket in the neighbors' pool), as well as being misunderstood by teachers and childhood friends.

Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood, Edward M. Hallowell, MD, and John J. Ratey, MD The authors, medical professionals, both have ADHD. Argues that ADHD is real, and not just something kids have, but it’s not always a disorder; it comes with some positive attributes of the intuitiveness, creativity, and enthusiasm kind. Among other things, it offers interesting case studies and useful tips on dealing with spouses and kids with ADHD.

Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete Authoritative Guide for Parents, Russell A. Barkley, PhD   A resource and how to book for parents, clinicians, and teachers. Suggests a mixture of organizational techniques, medication, behavior modification and even some devices might be the best way to work with ADHD child.

ADHD Does Not Exist, Richard Saul, MD A controversial title that suggests that ADHD is massively overdiagnosed, especially to kids who are bipolar or dyslexic. (Does not really suggest that ADHD does not exist.)

Smart But Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential, Peg Dawson EdD and Richard Guare PhD Lots of quizzes and charts for parents to asses their own organizational habits and skills. A couple of readers have said it’s better for younger kids. Some parents suggest it helped them decide whether their kid was just disorganized, or needed medication.

The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD: An 8-Step Program for Strengthening Attention, Managing Emotions, and Achieving Your Goals, Lidia Zylowska MD and Daniel Siegel MD  Since ADHD is heritable, if your kid has it, you or your spouse might too. This psychiatrist, who  specializes in adult ADHD using mindfulness practices, has an eight point plan to use meditation to improve focus and channel the emotions. [video id=3585006965001]

Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Programs That Allows You to See and Heal the 7 Types of ADD, Daniel G. Amen, PhD This prominent and media-friendly neurospychiatrist believes that ADD can be divided into seven subcategories and that each requires different treatment. He’s a specialist in applying what brain scans show to behavior.

ADHD Without Drugs: A Guide to the Natural Care of Children with ADHD, Sanford Newmark, MD A doctor suggests using an integrative approach, considering the needs of the whole child.

The ADHD Workbook for Kids: Helping Children Gain Self-Confidence, Social Skills and Self-Control, Lawrence Shapiro, PhD Another practical book, this aimed more at kids, to help them work out some of what they’re going through and what strategies they could use socially, through quizzes and games, from an author who specializes in play therapy.

Parenting Children with ADHD: 10 Lessons That Medicine Cannot Teach, Vincent J.Monastra, PhD  Often cited as the most practical of the many books on ADHD, this is written by a clinician and offers a lot of strategies for dealing with ADHD kids. Depsite its title, it’s not totally anti-medicine.