Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood

This clear and valuable book dispels a variety of myths about attention deficit disorder (ADD). Since both authors have ADD themselves, and both are successful medical professionals, perhaps there's no surprise that the two myths they attack most persistently are: (a) that ADD is an issue only for children; and (b) that ADD corresponds simply to limited intelligence or limited self-discipline. "The word disorder puts the syndrome entirely in the domain of pathology, where it should not entirely be. Although ADD can generate a host of problems, there are also advantages to having it, advantages that this book will stress, such as high energy, intuitiveness, creativity, and enthusiasm, and they are completely overlooked by the 'disorder' model." The authors go on to cite Mozart and Einstein as examples of probable ADD sufferers. (The problem as they see it is not so much attention deficit but attention inconsistency: "Most of us with ADD can in fact hyperfocus at times.") Although they warn against overdiagnosis, they also do a convincing job of answering the criticism that "everybody, and therefore nobody" has ADD. Using numerous case studies and a discussion of the way ADD intersects with other conditions (e.g., depression, substance abuse, and obsessive-compulsive disorder), they paint a concrete picture of the syndrome's realities. Especially helpful are the lists of tips for dealing with ADD in a child, a partner, or a family member. --Richard Farr

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Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder

Medication? Maybe. Marry the right person and find the right job? A must if you are an adult suffering from ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). So say psychiatrists Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey, authors of the influential Driven to Distraction, published in 1994. In their new book, Delivered from Distraction, Hallowell and Ratey survey the current medical landscape concerning ADD, combining their own clinical observations with the latest research to paint a much more complex and, in many ways, positive picture of the condition than has generally been presented.

Hallowell and Ratey embrace the idea that success in life comes more from playing to your strengths than overcoming your weaknesses. In the case of a person with ADD (child or adult), these strengths often include unusually high levels of creativity, charisma, intelligence, and energy. The authors insist that, while medication and other treatments can sometimes work wonders in reducing limitations, surrounding yourself with people who promote these positive traits, be they in your personal or professional life, is the single most important element to living well with ADD. As both Hallowell and Ratey are not only experts in the field, but "ADDers" themselves, the tips and stories they share for how to do so are fresh, funny, and far more helpful than tired arguments over drugs verse no drugs or whether there?s even such a thing as ADD at all.--Patrick Jennings

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