The Boy from Hell: Life with a Child with ADHD

by Alison M. Thompson

“Saturday 14th August 2001: Today has been a horrible, hateful day. Daniel has pushed me to my absolute wits’ end. Sometimes it really does feel like he is the original child from hell.”

When he was younger Daniel’s behaviour was challenging, earning him the nickname “the boy from hell” – and it was no real surprise when he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at the age of six.

The Boy from Hell: Life with a Child with ADHD is the story of the first fifteen years of Daniel’s life, as told by his mum. From struggles to find the right schooling through diagnosis and medication to brushes with the law, it’s been a rollercoaster ride of a journey that every parent of a child with ADHD will recognise.

As well as sharing their unique experience, Alison Thompson shares advice and information that has helped her along the way, and offers hope for the future for the many families living with an ADHD child. You’ll also hear about life with ADHD from the sibling’s perspective, and from Daniel himself.

“A well researched, informative and accessible guide, full of practical tips for parents and professionals - especially teachers! This book is a must for anyone whose life has been touched by ADHD.”
Dr Tony Lloyd, CEO, ADHD Foundation

“The Boy from Hell is like a parents’ survival guide, offering private comfort and reassurance that it won’t always be like this, and though every battle may take you to the brink of exhaustion it will all be worth it in the end. Oh, and it’s proof that a mother’s instinct about her beautiful yet challenging son is always right!”
Annemarie Main, mother of a child with ADHD

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Mental Health

174 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2013

About the author

Alison M. Thompson is the founder of ADHD Kids and a trained NLP Practitioner and Life Coach, a route she was propelled down due to the ongoing experience of raising a son with ADHD. She works to educate parents and teachers on understanding and dealing with ADHD in children. In 2008, Alison was nominated and shortlisted for the mother@work Most Exceptional Working Mother Award. She was also a semi-finalist in two categories of the Venus Awards Oxfordshire in 2014.

Alison lives on the Oxfordshire/Wiltshire borders with her partner, son and three mad cats. In her spare time she enjoys reading, swimming and going to auctions.

Reviews

[Linda Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by my daughter, her first, so I am obviously emotionally involved with the story she tells. However,I believe it to be a very clear account of living with and bringing up a challenging child, with advice about finding your way through the education system when it appears to be failing your child, tips and strategies which helped her, and practical links to other agencies and groups which are there to support and help people in similar situations. I think this book will also be of interest to parents with children who do not have ADHD but are nevertheless on the spectrum of related disorders.

[Jumanah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"طفلٌ من الجحيم: الحياة مع ابني المصاب بفرط الحركة وتشتت الانتباه." .
يخيل للعابر أن هذا الطفل غير منضبط وسيء التربية. سريع الافتعال وضعيف الإرادة. كثير اللهو لا يركز على أي شيء ويتطول على والدته ومدرساته بالشتم والضرب. آه أنه الجحيم فعلاً ..

دانيال، ابن المؤلفة، لم يصل التاسع من عمره إلا وتم فصله من المدرسة مرتين والاستعانة بالشرطة لضبطه اثناء نوباته وانهياراته العصبية. يعاني دانيال من اضطراب فرط الحركة وتشتت الانتباه اضافةً إلى العديد من الاضطرابات المصاحبة كالتوحد واضطرابات المزاج، والاندفاعية، ومتلازمة أسبرجر.

تركز المؤلفة على سبل تعلم دانيال وطرق الوصول إلى التعليم المناسب له بما ان هذا الاضطراب يعتبر من ضمن اضطرابات صعوبات التعلم. التعليم العام بشكل عام لا يمكنه احتواء احتياجات هذا الاضطراب لذا تؤكد والدته على انها لو لم تبحث عن تعليم خاص به كانت أسهمت بدون قصد في تأخر مستواه التعليمي. وصراحةً أعجبت بأنظمة التعليم الخاصة، مثلاً: التعلم للأطفال الذين يعانون من اضطرابات عاطفية وسلوكية، النظام التحفيزي لاضطراب فرط الحركة والتوحد. وكذلك تركز على أساليب ضبط الاضطراب من ناحية سلوكية ودوائية وأعجبت بشدة من فعالية الأدوية.
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طرح المؤلفة جدًا سلس وعجبني انها شاركت تجربة أخت دانيال ودانيال نفسه! جميل أن نقرأ للمصاب نفسه. أكثر ما أحزنني عبارة دانيال عند فصله للمرة الثانية من المدرسة "لا أدري لِم أعاني من كل هذه الإفتعالات.. "

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

My ten year old son has ADHD, and we are in the midst of trying treatment and meds. This book sounded so much like our experience dealing with the school system and doctors that I thought I could have written it myself (the US version rather than the UK). I have so much sympathy and empathy for the author and her son. I am very encouraged to read about Daniel's progression and improvement over the years. The book gave me a little bit of hope!

Just a note to US readers. A lot of the book talks about how to navigate the UK school system, which may not be relevant to your individual needs.

[Billy Buttons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was entered and was a BRONZE MEDAL WINNER in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:

Title: The Boy From Hell: Life with a Child with ADHD
Author: Alison M Thompson
Star Rating: 5 Stars (BRONZE MEDALIST)
Number of Readers: 27

Readers’ Comments
‘A totally fascinating read and I would think a bible for any parent battling with a child with ADHD. And, trust me, it is a battle!’ Female reader, aged 45
‘This book has many important aspects a parent will appreciate. It offers advice and seems well researched; but, also, it offers support with a very important central message: ‘Things will get better, you are not alone.’ Male reader, aged 52
‘Tightly edited and with a lively flowing style, this book looks at the life of a mother who has a son with ADHD. It is frank and honest but not overly depressing. There is a positive feel to the book and I think it would help many parents who are looking for a guiding light.’ Female reader, aged 44

Stats
Cover 8/10
Editing 10/10
Writing Style 9/10
Plot/Story/Contents 10/10
Of the 27 readers:
27 would read another book by this author.
22 thought the central message was the best part of the book.
15 felt the cover was good or excellent.

‘Intelligently written and packed full of tips for parents. A BRONZE MEDAL WINNER and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Awards

[Ozone-nut/ Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please don't make the mistake of thinking that this book is only for parents of children with ADHD. Or even that it is only for parents. The author's writing style is easy to read and draws you quickly into her life so that you're soon rooting for her and her son in their battles with the education system and life in general. It's a factual account but also much more than that; there is despair, frustration, hope and joy in this account, all portrayed so well that you will quickly become emotionally involved. Never again will I look at a parent struggling with a child having a tantrum in public and think "oh can't you just get your child under control?" Because you never know, sometimes, they just can't.

[Amber S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a parent, but I do work in the social work field. I work with quite a few families who have children diagnosed with ADHD and it is really helpful for me to be able to read the family from the inside. Nothing was sugar coated, her frustration is out in the open, and we could see the impact of Daniel in every aspect of mom's life. But the book isn't a woe is me tale. It is a book that includes a lot of really great information and education on children with ADHD. I should also mention that I am in the United States and some of the services are terminology are unfamiliar to me but the book does a spectacular job of defining terms, services, providing resources and answering questions. Not only is it a story about it a family, it's a manual on how to survive.

[Vanda Bromwich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in an easy to read chatty style. As a teacher I could identfy with a lot that happened in the book and could sympathise with much that happened in the schools. I have had no involvement with home tutoring so was interested to read about Daniel's reaction to it.
I am a firm believer in special schools and I think in this case Daniel has definitely benefitted from attending one that specialised in behaviour problems.
Thank you for writing this book Alison,Daniel and Katie. I am sure it will be a big help to others with children suffering from ADHD and most importantly it will give them hope that things can get better.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very honest account of living with a child with ADHD. Alison writes candidly about the situations she had to deal with and the affects that her son's behaviour had on her family. She also provides a useful insight into how different schools deal with children with ADHD and offers suggestions of what a parent can do if they find themselves up against difficulties.

As a trainee teacher I have found this book very useful to think about how families are affected by this condition and it will certainly make me think about how I can help to make school life easier for children and their families.

[Romina · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a horrible book. It breaks your heart that someone would choose to blame the child for everything instead of accepting ADHD is a disability. What truly broke my heart however is how the mother in the story kept using the ADHD as the reason why she wasn't the one to blame for the bad behavior, but somehow, the small child was a bad child.
The title is also horrible, and misleading to top it off. Daniel is an ADHD kid, and he also has a diagnosis of Autism and developed Oppositional Defiance Disorder, which means this book MAY have been useful for parents with children with that DX combination if titled appropriately and written with a bit of empathy (sadly not the case)

[Madalyn Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought The Boy From Hell was excellent. I don't have children so, when it was recommended to me, I didn't think it would be my cup of tea. I was wrong. You don't have to have children to enjoy this book. Not only is it a good story, it's so well written you forget it's factual. I fell in love with naughty but adorable Daniel, found myself angry with the education system, and really admired his mother. It has a lot of emotion in it, and a lot going for it. It's a great read.

[SpookyBoogie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. Imaging growing up and learning your parent not only considered you the spawn of the devil but wrote a book about it. Where is the privacy for the child? Where do they get a say in whether or not their personal struggles are exposed to the whole world? Thompson needs to get her head out of her arse. Her son is having a much worse go of it. Honestly from what I read I doubt she's even be able to empathize with the poor lad.

[Jennifer English · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a son with ADHD and ODD, so I was really interested to read this book. I loved this book! I even read Katie's and Daniel's chapters to my kids so they would see they are not alone. The only thing I didn't like about the story is that there were no resources for people struggling in the US. Would have given it 5 stars if it had that.

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book not only describes life with a child with ADHD, but also gives very useful advice along the way, from tips to handling behaviour to advice about dealing with the education system. If you have a child with ADHD, or if you work with such a child, you'll find this book useful.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had very limited knowledge on ADHD before reading this. The author's easy to read style helped me to learn lots of very useful information without me even realising it. I used some of this information at work (primary school teaching assistant) yesterday too, so thank you :)

[Brendabor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Primarily about navigating school in UK system and not applicable.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartfelt and relatable. I really grew to like Alison as a mum while reading her story. I get that it wasn’t easy but just seeing her mention all of Daniel’s quirks in a positive light is really encouraging. She comes across as a strong and uplifting person. Anyone would be lucky to have her as a mum - especially so if they needed extra help in life. It’s also a great thing to have a non-judgemental look at ADHD, ODD and Autism by the parent rather than yet another contradictory expert opinion that shames and blames. I really enjoyed this book but it is UK based and I wish there was an Australian equivalent that helped people negotiate the healthcare system as plainly as this. Obviously there are websites and advisory groups but honestly when you’re so tired and overwhelmed, the voice of an understanding parent going through a similar experience is comforting. Well worth reading this if you have a child in your life with challenging behaviours.

[Claire Murfitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow, I’d recommend this to anyone who has a child with ADHD and/or autism - I found myself saying “Yep, yep, yes - oh yes, that is JUST my child!” throughout. It’s interspersed with useful info on things such as the DLA and it even has sections from the boy himself and his sister. So much stuff on ADHD is American and it’s treated very differently over there - thanks Alison for writing something parents in the UK can identify with!

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I read this book in a day. It was like the author was telling my life story. So many similarities. After reading this book I feel uplifted and empowered. I know this is a family journey and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Also we are not alone.

Thank you for writing this book Alison.

[Fiona Mackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as I though it may help with our boy. However it had huge amounts of info about accessing help in the UK, legal requirements for schooling and assistance etc, so not much help for me. It would be an excellent resource for UK people and it’s great the book was written.

[Toan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good book for parents of ADHD kids living in the UK. It's mostly about the author finding appropriate schools for her son. If you want a book about children with ADHD, how they feel, how they see the world, how medications affect them, this book is not enough.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

A~M~A~Z~I~N~G!!!! Such an easy read not like most of the help books I have read. There is actually a story, advice, and so much more. Thank you Alison for writing such a great book! 💖

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and to read your story meant the world to me. I am now suffering from anxiety and depression and thought I was going insane with his behaviour. You have made me feel calm and sane. Knowing that may child had similar behaviours to your child I felt like I was living your story...except my son is 5. But you and you're family have given me hope. I am now making my mum and new partner read this book so they can understand that we are not alone.

[Emma B · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I received the Kindle version of this book, free of charge, from Netgalley in return for an honest independent review.)

A practical helpful book - for all parents!

This is the story of Alison and her two children, one of whom has been diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger's. However it is less a story about this wonderful, loving family, it is more a book about how they can help you with behavioural challenges you may be experiencing with your child!

This short book takes the reader through the different types of ADHD, giving practical advice on how to obtain help from the UK schooling system, examples of ADHD behaviour, what to do if your child is facing exclusion from school, and lots and lots of useful tips and techniques on how to deal with a child who is presenting challenges to parents or teachers.

Although ADHD is a "genuine medical condition with biological roots" Alison frequently had to deal with people thinking that Daniel's behaviour was just a bad parenting issue, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. As Daniel says "There are no benefits from having ADHD".

This is not only a book of helpful advice on living with a child with ADHD, but also a book on living with any child who has meltdowns, or exhibits behaviour that is difficult to control. It includes "tips for surviving as a parent" , a section about diets and medication, ideas for dealing with parenting challenges, plus appendices with loads of helpful information and contacts.

A book for anyone who spends time with young children!

Oh - and Daniel isn't from hell, it just sometimes seems that way to him and everyone else.

(To read more of my reviews visit: http://www.emmabbooks.blogspot.co.at )

[The Suburban Eclectic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parenting is tough business and any help you can get is a welcome gift. If you are looking for a true story that you let you know you're not alone then this is it. Part diary, part guide it is told from Thompson's perspective. While I enjoyed the personal anecdotes I didn't find the tips and tricks especially new or informative. It seems pretty standard stuff, but for a parent that has received a new diagnosis for their child they might find this helpful. For seasoned vets (caregivers, parents or teachers) the Tips section might be a good refresher.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, however, I think it would have been more helpful had I lived in the UK! She has great insight and it really made me not feel alone it the World.
She had great tips and tricks for helping a child with ADHD and how to be an advocate for your child. Love reading the different perspectives of ADHD and how it effect the child, siblings, and adults.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent!