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A review by rynn82
Taking Charge of Adult ADHD by Russell A. Barkley
1.0
Would definitely not recommend, whether for people with ADHD or for people seeking to understand people with ADHD.
The author is certainly an eminent researcher, but the book sometimes uses pretty stigmatizing language; the examples given are often of really intense presentations of ADHD (so a great way to reinforce your stereotypes if you're trying to educate yourself about ADHD, and not very helpful for making sure people who have less obvious ADHD get successfully diagnosed and treated); and the strategies in the book are nothing special, particularly if impulsivity isn't the main way your ADHD manifests.
The book also doesn't do a great job of covering the internal experience of ADHD, and consequently doesn't do a great job of looking at the ways in which ADHD may manifest differently in people who aren't white men (from what I've read, women of all races, and men of colour, are more likely to have a presentation of ADHD that's more about internal distress and chaos than external distress and chaos).
Barkley talks a lot about "the life you deserve" and I'm here to tell you that the life you deserve involves a life in which you don't read this book ;)
(For those looking for something better: I don't have another book recommendation, but try How To ADHD on YouTube for something a bit more cheerful.)
The author is certainly an eminent researcher, but the book sometimes uses pretty stigmatizing language; the examples given are often of really intense presentations of ADHD (so a great way to reinforce your stereotypes if you're trying to educate yourself about ADHD, and not very helpful for making sure people who have less obvious ADHD get successfully diagnosed and treated); and the strategies in the book are nothing special, particularly if impulsivity isn't the main way your ADHD manifests.
The book also doesn't do a great job of covering the internal experience of ADHD, and consequently doesn't do a great job of looking at the ways in which ADHD may manifest differently in people who aren't white men (from what I've read, women of all races, and men of colour, are more likely to have a presentation of ADHD that's more about internal distress and chaos than external distress and chaos).
Barkley talks a lot about "the life you deserve" and I'm here to tell you that the life you deserve involves a life in which you don't read this book ;)
(For those looking for something better: I don't have another book recommendation, but try How To ADHD on YouTube for something a bit more cheerful.)