Thinking Differently: An Inspiring Guide for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities – Innovative, Hands-On Strategies for Self-Advocacy in the 20% with Dyslexia and ADHD

by David Flink

An innovative, comprehensive guide—the first of its kind—to help parents understand and accept learning disabilities in their children, offering tips and strategies for successfully advocating on their behalf and helping them become their own best advocates. In Thinking Differently , David Flink, the leader of Eye to Eye—a national mentoring program for students with learning and attention issues—enlarges our understanding of the learning process and offers powerful, innovative strategies for parenting, teaching, and supporting the 20 percent of students with learning disabilities. An outstanding fighter who has helped thousands of children adapt to their specific learning issues, Flink understands the needs and experiences of these children first hand. He, too, has dyslexia and ADHD. Focusing on how to arm students who think and learn differently with essential skills, including meta-cognition and self-advocacy, Flink offers real, hard advice, providing the tools to address specific problems they face—from building self-esteem and reconstructing the learning environment, to getting proper diagnoses and discovering their inner gifts. With his easy, hands-on “Step-by-Step Launchpad to Empowerment,” parents can take immediate steps to improve their children’s lives. Thinking Differently is a brilliant, compassionate work, packed with essential insights and real-world applications indispensable for parents, educators, and other professional involved with children with learning disabilities.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Adhd, Education

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2014

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the most important chapter in this book that I walked away with the most is Chapter 8: Become an Advocate. "We need to encourage these kids to believe in themselves because if they are taught to, they will."
Chapter 7: Find Your Allies also talks about some important concepts. Being able to find people who support you or your child throughout the school years and teaching your child to be their own advocate are so important.

It is so important for kids with dyslexia to find something they are good at, discover their inner gifts and talents and that they are as smart as anyone else even if they think differently! Their self esteem can be so low because of their academic struggles. We as parents need to find ways for them to navigate those years and build confidence.

The quotes at the beginning of each chapter say a lot as well.... such as "Go where you are strong" "Life is full of challenges whether you are learning disabled or not. It's how you handle those challenges," and "My dyslexia and my challenges through school were the absolute perfect training for an expedition."

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, helpful, encouraging. The author writes from his own experience with ADHD and dyslexia. I recommend it for anyone who interacts with and cares for children with ADHD/learning disabilities.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Flink, a masterful storyteller, shares his stories as well as stories from the work of his life-changing organization, Eye to Eye. This clear, engaging book should be read by and shared with every parent who has and educator who works with a child (or children) who learns differently - in other words, is challenged by the traditional classroom environment. While this includes children who have been identified with learning disabilities, clearly there are many more young people who don't learn best through reading and lecture.
My one request is that when the next edition comes out (which it surely will!), what is identified as Sam Chaltain's Your Learning Sketch online tool be correctly identified as QED Foundation's Learner Sketch Tool (learnersketch.org). (We co-developed the QED Faces of Learning initiative with Sam, with QED taking the lead on the Learner Sketch Tool.)
Read this book - and join the movement to ensure empowering learning environments for EVERY learner!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous stories and advice from David Flink on how to parent and support children with learning differences plus how to help our children become self-advocates

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring book that offers encouragement to parents with children whose brains work differently. I enjoyed the authors voice and his honesty about his struggles and how he overcame them.

[Meg Berg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was too anecdotal for my preference. The title refers to it as an inspiring guide, but it is much less guide than attempt to inspire. It is actually more of an exploration and celebration of the author's journey through life with dyslexia and ADHD. There is very little research and I was hard pressed to find any information that struck me as new or useful by the end. For a very first read in the wake of a diagnosis of dyslexia or attention issues, this may be a decent gateway book. For someone looking for a different kind of insight, I would recommend Dyslexic Advantage and The Power of Different.

[Victor Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super Powers rather than Learning Disabilities

Stories of real people with learning disabilities who learn about how their super power brain. These are intelligent people with different abilities to perceive, store, and retrieve information.

Many of these students went to IVY League schools and prominent positions in society and government.

[Holli Keel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as I had hoped, so I skimmed it. The book seems to be about learning disabilities in general, but since the author has ADHD and dyslexia, that seems to be the focus. And as my child has an unidentified LD, even after testing many times, I didn’t get any help from this book and am still searching for how to help my kid. Onward.

[Logan Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve had the privilege of meeting David Flink at an educator’s conference. He is truly an inspiring and simply kind man. Loved reading his book and being able to read from the perspective of someone who had ADHD & dyslexia. Great read to expand your knowledge on disabilities whether a parent, teacher, advocate, or friend!

[Bozhena Levine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent guide for parents and educators to understand children with differently wired brains and the ways to help/advocate for them as well as to teach and empower the children to ultimately advocate for themselves.

[Dyslexic Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

An empowering read for parents, educators and students with learning differences!
My full review: https://wordpress.com/post/dyslexicli...

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 if I could

[Kristi Becknell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty basic overview but insightful especially for those who are new to learning about IEP and other accommodations.

[Melissa Hutchins · Rating 4 out of 5]

as the subtitle indicates, this guide is most useful to parents of children with learning disabilities.

[Max Hanawalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really good! It’s honest but uplifting! I highly recommend this book!

[Tiffany Smart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading to renew my behavior interventionist license. It actually wasn’t too bad. Lots of information on dyslexia and ADHD in classroom settings. Mostly anecdotal but still informative.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

good resource for homeschooling parents

[Daniel Demarle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly describes these issues

[Catherine]

Written from the perspective of an adult who wrestled with LD/ADHD as a student in school and then went on to be an Ivy League student. This book provides some valuable insights for not only parents, but teachers who work with students who think differently. Seeking allies is regarded as one of THE most vital pursuits for those who are challenged in this way.

One of my biggest takeaways, is that children/adults with ADHD don't have a deficit of attention, but rather find it difficult to narrow their attention or focus to SOLELY what they want in their sphere of attention.

[Jenni Frencham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flink, David. Thinking Differently: An Inspiring Guide for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities. William-Morrow, 2014.

This book, written by a person with both a learning disability and ADHD, is meant to be a guide to help parents who have recently learned that their child has ADHD and a learning disability. Sprinkled sparingly with personal-interest stories, this book provides tips and hope to parents who want to help their kids succeed.

I didn't find this book to be useful at all, unfortunately. The biggest problem is likely that I am not the target audience: I am not a parent, and my nonexistent children have no diagnosed disabilities. I was hoping, though, to find some tips or hints or information that would be helpful in my work as a youth services librarian. I think I will have to look elsewhere for that information.

As it is, this book doesn't have a lot of very practical information other than, "Advocate for your kid. Remember your kid is awesome," which are things I would hope a parent who is concerned enough to even read this book would already be doing. There was not other super-practical, specific information, which was disappointing. The human interest stories didn't fill the gap, either. Chapter 8, for example, opens with a story about a boy named Jack. The story states that we will follow Jack throughout a typical day, but in reality we leave Jack once he gets on the school bus and heads to school. I appreciated the practical information inherent in the story itself but was disappointed that it ended at, say, 7:30 AM when it was supposed to continue for an entire day.

Bottom Line: If it already exists at your library it might be worth flipping through. If not, find another resource. There are plenty.

[Tiffany Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great voice for student with Dyslxia or ADHD. I hope teachers will read and get a since of how our students feel as the navigate through the education system. Will be on my son's reading list for the spring semester. Great advice and encourages parents and students while sharing his story is

I can only dream that my son could participate in Eye to Eye. Hope one of our Oklahoma universites will step up to the plate.

[LeaAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though it contained some helpful tips for parents, I wouldn't call it a guide. It was more about the author's personal story and his organization than practical help for parents.

[Jlither · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will keep this as a reference... but it wasn't for me. I've read quite a few LD books that had a more human touch... Each to his own cup of tea.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read non-fiction. Read every chapter, every page. It was good. I am adding it to my "To-buy" list.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

helpful guide for parents advocating for their children in public & private schools

[Juanita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the information on mentoring children with learning differences especially helpful.

[WCU Special Education]

WCU Main Collection, 4th Floor
Call Number: 371.9 F622
Link to catalog record: http://pilot.passhe.edu:8022/cgi-bin/...

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this 3.5 stars if I could. There were a few good tips for ALL types of learners.

[Alesia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into how to handle and deal with these disorders. Very informative

[Jsgenz]

This book gave me good perspective on what my son is going through and how to help him.