The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! π
teardropsonthedancefloor_'s review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
amyrhoda's review against another edition
3.0
This is a comprehensive overview of the issues that face girls with AD/HD, and the importance of addressing them as early as possible. The authors discuss how to recognize AD/HD in girls (for example, the "H" doesn't look like stereotypical hyperactivity), the unique risks of AD/HD in developing girls, and how to address the condition.
I, particularly, found the sections on socialization helpful: my daughter has ADD, and for the most part I have always understood her behaviour quite well, even before the diagnosis. But I never understood why she didn't have close friends, and why playdates always ended badly. The descriptions of failed social interactions in the book helped.
Lots of interesting food for thought in here, which is new to me but probably not to someone who has been grappling with the topic for a while. ADD is particularly difficult in girls because it exaggerates behaviours which are considered masculine: risk-taking, aggression, physicality. The multiple demands of femininity β being tidy, pretty, together, contained, considerate of others β are difficult enough for neurotypical women but really play to the weaknesses of girls with ADD. I feel like I have a lot more reading and thinking to do on this topic, and that my understanding of feminism will be the stronger for it.
I diverge from the authors on two points: First, I'm not yet convinced that ADD is a disorder; I think it's quite possibly a normal neurological variation that is evolutionarily advantageous at the group and possibly individual level. I haven't done a lot of reading on that, yet, though. Second, the authors recommend "behaviour modification" β punishment and rewards β to alter a child's behaviour. My new understanding of ADD hasn't affected my belief that positive, democratic parenting is the way to go β my child is not a rat in a Skinner box, no matter how many disorders she has.
The book is clearly written and easy to read (although the copyediting often leaves something to be desired, and there is no index).
I, particularly, found the sections on socialization helpful: my daughter has ADD, and for the most part I have always understood her behaviour quite well, even before the diagnosis. But I never understood why she didn't have close friends, and why playdates always ended badly. The descriptions of failed social interactions in the book helped.
Lots of interesting food for thought in here, which is new to me but probably not to someone who has been grappling with the topic for a while. ADD is particularly difficult in girls because it exaggerates behaviours which are considered masculine: risk-taking, aggression, physicality. The multiple demands of femininity β being tidy, pretty, together, contained, considerate of others β are difficult enough for neurotypical women but really play to the weaknesses of girls with ADD. I feel like I have a lot more reading and thinking to do on this topic, and that my understanding of feminism will be the stronger for it.
I diverge from the authors on two points: First, I'm not yet convinced that ADD is a disorder; I think it's quite possibly a normal neurological variation that is evolutionarily advantageous at the group and possibly individual level. I haven't done a lot of reading on that, yet, though. Second, the authors recommend "behaviour modification" β punishment and rewards β to alter a child's behaviour. My new understanding of ADD hasn't affected my belief that positive, democratic parenting is the way to go β my child is not a rat in a Skinner box, no matter how many disorders she has.
The book is clearly written and easy to read (although the copyediting often leaves something to be desired, and there is no index).
teald's review against another edition
There was a poem from a girl to her mother at the end of the first chapter that was so triggering I was filled with sadness, anger and pain. I havenβt gone back to it yet.
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