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gbbooks's review
3.0
Interesting book. Seemed like she was spending crazy amounts of $ for tests and therapists, wonder what the options are for the average family...
marie_gg's review against another edition
3.0
Q: How many kids with attention deficit disorder does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Let's go ride bikes!
Katherine Ellison's son Buzz (a pseudonym) was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder not too long before she received the same diagnosis.
Read my full review here: http://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/buzz-year-of-paying-attention.html
A: Let's go ride bikes!
Katherine Ellison's son Buzz (a pseudonym) was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder not too long before she received the same diagnosis.
Read my full review here: http://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/buzz-year-of-paying-attention.html
bigsexy's review against another edition
5.0
Right after I read this book, I emailed the author and said, "Thank you for putting on paper what I want others to understand about my child." If you have a child with ADHD, ADD, Aspbergers or maybe they are considered an odd duck, read this book.
karieh13's review against another edition
3.0
Parts of “Buzz” were fascinating to me as I know a couple of little boys who have similar traits to author Katherine Ellison’s son. Many of the attitude shifts she experiences as she deals with the diagnosis of ADHD for both herself and her son are ones that I, too, have espoused…although in my case there was very little actual fact to back up my arguments.
She shifts well between the emotions she feels in this year of “paying attention” and the medical and sociological facts she presents. I knew very little about ADHD beyond what one reads in the news and in magazines…watching as attitudes swing from pro-medication to very anti. Her presentation of the facts she learns meshes well with what she herself is experiencing.
“Are we blessed or cursed by supposedly knowing so much more than our parents did? Especially when there’s such fierce debate of nearly every aspect of what we think we know? Well-informed as we modern parents may be, we’ve ended up with much more data than knowledge, inclining us to burn countless megawatts of brainpower trying to discern that shifting line between character and disorder, explanation and excuse, “I can’t” and “I won’t”.”
Above all, what comes across in “Buzz” is that ADHD, its diagnosis, its possible treatments, all involve a great deal of heartache and difficulty for the child and for the parents. There is no right answer; there is no one size fits all cure. Everyone seems to have an opinion but no one really has the answer. Raising children is hard. Being a child, especially today, is hard.
The one criticism I might have (and again, this is based on my experience which is different than the author’s) – is that what comes across in this book is a near total disgust and frustration with the public school system. With the exception of one of two teachers she encounters, Ellison seems to find little value in the way public schools try and deal with all of the children they interact with. Where private schools have better luck dealing with kids with different needs – public schools must accept all children – and have their hands tied in many ways private school do not. I found myself skimming some of the paragraphs near the end of the book when they appeared to further disparage the schools.
But I am very glad I read “Buzz”. It gave me insight about what parents go through when their child is diagnosed with this disorder. There are so many struggles – not only between parent and child, but parent and doctors, children and teachers, parents and other parents. It is exhausting to read about and my heart goes out to these parents and children. While there seems no magic answer, I certainly hope they find an answer that works for them.
She shifts well between the emotions she feels in this year of “paying attention” and the medical and sociological facts she presents. I knew very little about ADHD beyond what one reads in the news and in magazines…watching as attitudes swing from pro-medication to very anti. Her presentation of the facts she learns meshes well with what she herself is experiencing.
“Are we blessed or cursed by supposedly knowing so much more than our parents did? Especially when there’s such fierce debate of nearly every aspect of what we think we know? Well-informed as we modern parents may be, we’ve ended up with much more data than knowledge, inclining us to burn countless megawatts of brainpower trying to discern that shifting line between character and disorder, explanation and excuse, “I can’t” and “I won’t”.”
Above all, what comes across in “Buzz” is that ADHD, its diagnosis, its possible treatments, all involve a great deal of heartache and difficulty for the child and for the parents. There is no right answer; there is no one size fits all cure. Everyone seems to have an opinion but no one really has the answer. Raising children is hard. Being a child, especially today, is hard.
The one criticism I might have (and again, this is based on my experience which is different than the author’s) – is that what comes across in this book is a near total disgust and frustration with the public school system. With the exception of one of two teachers she encounters, Ellison seems to find little value in the way public schools try and deal with all of the children they interact with. Where private schools have better luck dealing with kids with different needs – public schools must accept all children – and have their hands tied in many ways private school do not. I found myself skimming some of the paragraphs near the end of the book when they appeared to further disparage the schools.
But I am very glad I read “Buzz”. It gave me insight about what parents go through when their child is diagnosed with this disorder. There are so many struggles – not only between parent and child, but parent and doctors, children and teachers, parents and other parents. It is exhausting to read about and my heart goes out to these parents and children. While there seems no magic answer, I certainly hope they find an answer that works for them.
chadstep's review against another edition
3.0
A "memoir" of life with her child with ADHD, I'd recommend this to someone wanting an insider's view with a highly personalized account rather than as an informational overview. Strong influences of her Jewish faith on her story, as wells coping with what she feels is her own ADHD, Ellison brings it close to the bone.
kaypendragon's review against another edition
1.0
Sadly, one of those books I'm never going to finish. I simply couldn't bring myself to care about the woman who spent the first 2 chapters whining that everyone else has better kids. Possibly it gets better later on, but I'm not really willing to spend the time to find out.
cafeduke's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to my brother's girlfriend for recommending this book. Written from the perspective of an ADHD adult with a super ADHD kid, it offered some insight into my super ADHD kid. The author thoroughly researched many ways of treating her neurodivergent son saving me some time and money. There were a few autobiographical chapters that were more focused on her own journey that were also interesting.