The Gift of ADHD: How to Transform Your Child’s Problems Into Strengths

Brain chemistry, not bad parenting, is responsible for the 12 percent of children younger than 18 who have diagnosable brain disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), separation anxiety disorder (SAD), or enuresis (bed-wetting). Through case studies, scientific data, and information about children’s development and brain chemistry, Koplewicz helps parents understand the obstacles their brain-disordered children face. A practicing psychiatrist, he also suggests means, including therapy and medication, by which families may lessen the difficulties posed by those disorders. He devotes the final section of the book to considerations of the nature and treatment of problems including, besides those noted above, depression, conduct disorder, bipolar disorder, and autism. Presented with compassion but in no-nonsense style, his effort offers a wealth of scientific information in a format easily accessible to parents, extended families, and friends of “difficult” children.
—Kathryn Carpenter from Booklist

So you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I bet that means you also have a lot of questions, doubts, and fears. This book provides some answers as well as advice on how to deal with ADHD.

Dale Borman Fink, the author of the only book on inclusion of youth with special needs in after school child care, now presents the first book to examine the experiences of children with disabilities participating in youth programs alongside their typical peers. Using a case study technique, he probes into the issues and dynamics that influence the increasing participation of kids with disabilities in such activities as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and park and recreation programs.

Life is good for Jenna Bianchi. She’s just started her second year of teaching English at Morrison High School, a job she loves. She has a pet parrot with attitude. And there’s a handsome math teacher who wants to be more than just friends. But everything changes when a defiant, disruptive tenth grader walks into her classroom.

With a smart mouth and a swagger to match, Michael Tayler is a problem for Jenna from the very first day. His school record screams troublemaker, and Jenna wonders if the new year is already doomed. But when she reads Michael’s first poetry assignment, she recognizes it for what it truly is: a cry for help.

Michael’s presence sets into motion a chain of events that turns Jenna’s perfect life upside-down and threatens to destroy her career. Faced with a challenge unlike anything she’s ever known, Jenna commits to doing what no one has done for Michael Tayler before.

It’s September, which means it’s time for school to start! The alarm rings, but Sarah Jane Hartwell just burrows deeper into her covers, announcing that shes not going, wailing “I dont know anybody, and it will be hard, and … I just hate it, thats all.” Finally, Mr. Hartwell firmly orders her down to breakfast, puts her in the car and drops her off to join the children flooding through the school doors. But is Sarah who you expect her to be?

This book uses the Building Blocks model. The Building Blocks model is practical, supported by research, and easy to implement. It identifies ten areas important to school success (the building blocks), divided into three levels:

1. the foundational level includes attention and impulse control, emotion and behavior, self-esteem, and learning environment blocks
2. the symbolic processing and memory level contains the visual, auditory, and motor skills blocks
3. the conceptual level comprises using strategies and thinking with language and images