No matter who you are or what your reasons for picking up Driven to Distraction, by Dr. Edward Hallowell, be prepared to get some real answers to your questions about attention deficit disorder. The book is organized so that it can easily be utilized in any number of ways. It would be a great reference source for information on particular aspects of ADD, but beware... if you start reading at the beginning you will be drawn into Dr. Hallowell's detailed, and in some sense very personal, unfolding of what is known about attention deficit disorder and you won't be able to put this volume down!
I ordered this book as a somewhat disinterested bystander. I was intending it as a sourcebook to pass along to a family of my acquaintance who suspect that they are raising a child who has this disorder. After having read Driven to Distraction, I recognize that there are no "disinterested bystanders" when it comes to ADD. My life is impacted by the syndrome whether or not I am the person hearing the diagnosis being pronounced. You may be the neighbor, relative, employer, friend, or co-worker of someone who is living with this disorder, either aware or unaware of what is happening in his/her life. The symptoms are various and occur in almost limitless combinations.
The effect on the lives of those coping (or not coping) with the fallout from ADD is almost impossible to gauge. It is probably accurate to say that there are hundreds of times as many people who have undiagnosed attention deficit disorder as there are those aware of their condition. If you have a family member undergoing testing for ADD, take heed to the implications for your own life. Dr. Hallowell repeatedly stresses that having an official diagnosis by a qualified professional is essential. The positive diagnosis is a huge relief for many with ADD, but it is only the beginning in terms of finding workable solutions for very real life problems in the lives of patients.
That is when the information gleaned from Dr. Hallowell's book becomes invaluable. Wherever we find ourselves in the scheme of things with regard to ADD, we can be uninformed and unwittingly contribute to the difficulties ADD patients face or choose to arm ourselves with knowledge about the condition and become a force of encouragement and compassion toward those courageously confronting their ADD challenges. What will it be?
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M. Ramsey
Real Answers
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Helped me to get my partner a diagnosis
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