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Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults: A Different Way of Thinking
Since its last revision in 1997, dozens of new treatments and philosophies about ADD and ADHD have met with storms of controversy and great media attention. Dr. Lynn Weiss cuts through the noise and gets down to the point in a human, caring, and professional way. People turn to the Weiss library for a breath of fresh air on the ADD turmoil. Is it an allergy? A chemical imbalance? A genetic thing? Lynn's answer: "Who cares?" The new edition not only touches on and dispels the most recent clinical findings, it also emphasizes the bigger perspective, focusing on the humanitarian, economic, empowerment, and diversity issues facing all of us on the ADD continuum today.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 4, 2019
Not really what I need at the moment, but I don't disagree with the premise: it seems more likely than not that what is currently diagnosed as ADHD will someday be considered atypical but not necessarily disordered. Certainly there are ways in which my brain isn't great, but everything has trade-offs. Left to our natural inclinations my family wouldn't talk to anyone except at dinner, but that one conversation lasts two hours and it's entertaining as all hell. Dinner will be late, the kitchen untidy, and we'll each likely have forgotten something vitally important during the day, but you'll get quality chat.
Despite the frustrations, I don't think forgetting the odd appointment is too high a price for amusing repartee. YMMV
Library copy
Despite the frustrations, I don't think forgetting the odd appointment is too high a price for amusing repartee. YMMV
Library copy
April 27, 2021
"She Doesn't finish what she starts."
"He never follows through."
"She's smart, but just can't seem to settle down."
"He's so immature."
"This is the misunderstanding, frustration, and heartache of ADD. Although generally thought of as a children's problem, ADD is most likely hereditary and frequently persists into adulthood, affecting as much as 10% of the adult population. Only recently have concerned families begun to recognize the symptoms in themselves and in spouses or relatives: attention span difficulty, fidgeting, poor impulse control, low stress tolerance, poor organization with poor task completion, or extreme mood swings.
"Dr. Lyn Weiss, psychotherapist and mother of an ADD son, answers questions of concerned readers, explaining what ADD is, how it manifests itself in adults, and what can be done to cope with it. Readers will find ways to improve self image, the latest thinking on treatment with drugs, visualization techniques, and answers for intimacy problems. There's also a special section for the spouse of an ADD person. Filled with practical help, the book includes an up-to-date, state-by-state resource guide with support groups, organizations, and research programs."
~~back
Generally a good book, and I liked that it was written about adults, as generally books on ADD are focused on children. The only difficulty is that the book was written in 1992, so much more is known about ADD now than was known then, that some of the advice seems outdated. Certainly more is known about ADD in adult women.
"He never follows through."
"She's smart, but just can't seem to settle down."
"He's so immature."
"This is the misunderstanding, frustration, and heartache of ADD. Although generally thought of as a children's problem, ADD is most likely hereditary and frequently persists into adulthood, affecting as much as 10% of the adult population. Only recently have concerned families begun to recognize the symptoms in themselves and in spouses or relatives: attention span difficulty, fidgeting, poor impulse control, low stress tolerance, poor organization with poor task completion, or extreme mood swings.
"Dr. Lyn Weiss, psychotherapist and mother of an ADD son, answers questions of concerned readers, explaining what ADD is, how it manifests itself in adults, and what can be done to cope with it. Readers will find ways to improve self image, the latest thinking on treatment with drugs, visualization techniques, and answers for intimacy problems. There's also a special section for the spouse of an ADD person. Filled with practical help, the book includes an up-to-date, state-by-state resource guide with support groups, organizations, and research programs."
~~back
Generally a good book, and I liked that it was written about adults, as generally books on ADD are focused on children. The only difficulty is that the book was written in 1992, so much more is known about ADD now than was known then, that some of the advice seems outdated. Certainly more is known about ADD in adult women.
August 20, 2020
I was diagnosed with ADD back in 1989 at 9 years old. Up until this year, I had understood that coping with ADD meant that I took medication and didn't need to do anything else. I was mistaken.
While Weiss doesn't convey any new revelations about my condition, she does contextualize a lot of my behaviors: emotional sensitivity, limited patience, and even my lifelong interest in video games. By giving me fresh context on my ADD behaviors, Weiss helps me to moderate these behaviors more readily. I know what to look in myself and where it comes from.
Contributions like these are timeless and welcome in my understanding of how ADD affects my daily life.
While Weiss doesn't convey any new revelations about my condition, she does contextualize a lot of my behaviors: emotional sensitivity, limited patience, and even my lifelong interest in video games. By giving me fresh context on my ADD behaviors, Weiss helps me to moderate these behaviors more readily. I know what to look in myself and where it comes from.
Contributions like these are timeless and welcome in my understanding of how ADD affects my daily life.
June 30, 2021
I found the language of the book to be quite negative honestly. I think if someone is trying to determine if they have ADHD or if they are trying to learn more about it there is decent information in the book, but the tendency to almost speak down about people with ADHD really rubbed me the wrong way. I did read an older edition so maybe the newer ones have updated to be more positive, I don’t know. If you are a woman with ADHD and you haven’t read it I recommend Sari Soldens book: Women with Attention Deficit Disorder.
February 17, 2025
so wonderful
adhd is a diagnosis that linear thinkers give to analogical thinkers & if we all lived in an analogical world, the linear thinkers would be the ones displaying the symptoms of adhd.
i knew my brain was just fine the way it is.
adhd is a diagnosis that linear thinkers give to analogical thinkers & if we all lived in an analogical world, the linear thinkers would be the ones displaying the symptoms of adhd.
i knew my brain was just fine the way it is.
June 28, 2022
A decent read, but very outdated at this point.
February 8, 2011
Lo and behold this book described me. And typically I read half of it 3 months ago, put it aside and only finished it yesterday after being reminded by my wife where I had forgotten I carefully put it. I mark this with a 3 stars just because it was interesting to me. If you don't have ADD or don't live with someone who does I would not see much point in reading it. It is not particularly well written; the author has ADD and the book is quite disorganized.
For me however it was interesting to read about myself. How my mind works differently than others, why I find somethings (writing an organized letter, handling preparations for a small claims court) very difficult and painful to do (I married and have hired very linear people to aid me in those tasks) and other things,(seeing what a beat-up house would look like fixed up and listing what needed to be done) so easy and I don't understand why people find them hard. It explained why I have a difficult time sitting still for long periods and how I get bored easily.
This intolerance of boredom is in balance a blessing to me in that I have quit a bunch of things (jobs) that don't fit and found activities and a vocation that suit me well.
It explains why I jump from subject to subject when talking. My mind makes connections with some other subject and simply goes there. I'm there and not the other place. When I was in residency I noticed that when I left the hospital I would not think anything about medicine, my patients, my work until I was on the way to the hospital the next morning. Then it would all come back and I go "Oh gosh I need to do such and such." It was like I was living two different lives with two different minds.
One thing I was amazed at in the book is that it said ADD people often say "uh-huh" when asked to do something or if they understood something when they haven't really been paying attention at all. I do this very thing. Exactly. My wife knows that she must get me to look at her and engage eye contact if I am in the midst of something else.
Interestingly to me the book describes how people with ADD often say things that they haven't thoroughly thought out and that these strike others as rude, though not meant that way, and so the ADD person gets a lot of negative feedback and gets feeling self-conscious or gets a bit of a bad feeling about himself. I have noticed this also. Not to a terrible extent but I have this underlining feeling that I am a bit not liked despite evidence to the contrary.
The book did describe some people who were having huge life and emotional problems because of ADD and not functioning well and I felt blessed that I consider my life to have been happy and good.
Great book to read if you have ADD. Otherwise move on.
For me however it was interesting to read about myself. How my mind works differently than others, why I find somethings (writing an organized letter, handling preparations for a small claims court) very difficult and painful to do (I married and have hired very linear people to aid me in those tasks) and other things,(seeing what a beat-up house would look like fixed up and listing what needed to be done) so easy and I don't understand why people find them hard. It explained why I have a difficult time sitting still for long periods and how I get bored easily.
This intolerance of boredom is in balance a blessing to me in that I have quit a bunch of things (jobs) that don't fit and found activities and a vocation that suit me well.
It explains why I jump from subject to subject when talking. My mind makes connections with some other subject and simply goes there. I'm there and not the other place. When I was in residency I noticed that when I left the hospital I would not think anything about medicine, my patients, my work until I was on the way to the hospital the next morning. Then it would all come back and I go "Oh gosh I need to do such and such." It was like I was living two different lives with two different minds.
One thing I was amazed at in the book is that it said ADD people often say "uh-huh" when asked to do something or if they understood something when they haven't really been paying attention at all. I do this very thing. Exactly. My wife knows that she must get me to look at her and engage eye contact if I am in the midst of something else.
Interestingly to me the book describes how people with ADD often say things that they haven't thoroughly thought out and that these strike others as rude, though not meant that way, and so the ADD person gets a lot of negative feedback and gets feeling self-conscious or gets a bit of a bad feeling about himself. I have noticed this also. Not to a terrible extent but I have this underlining feeling that I am a bit not liked despite evidence to the contrary.
The book did describe some people who were having huge life and emotional problems because of ADD and not functioning well and I felt blessed that I consider my life to have been happy and good.
Great book to read if you have ADD. Otherwise move on.
April 8, 2015
The author focuses primarily on adults with ADD who weren't properly diagnosed as children, and since it was written almost 25 years ago, it's a bit outdated. For example, Weiss suggests the use of diet pills to help with ADD symptoms, but they don't use methamphetamines anymore, so that approach would be useless today. However, the book is still a good primer for dealing with ADD adults who are currently in their 30s or older since they would have more than likely gone undiagnosed as children. I'm glad the stigma surrounding ADD has lessened, and I think we all feel a little ADD from time to time. Even though I wonder about myself every now & then, after reading this book, I'm 95% sure my issues stem from something other than ADD. On the other hand, I think this book has helped me understand my husband and what he deals with on a daily basis a little better.
Read it if you're dealing with ADD in an adult, whether it be you, your spouse, boss, friend, or coworker, who grew up in the '70s or '80s and you want to better understand where they may be coming from. It may also be a decent source if you want to see what your child could end up dealing with as an adult if you don't get him/her a proper diagnosis & help... Otherwise, find a more relevant book to the current thinking on the subject. Since the time of this book's publication, advances in brain research have improved by leaps & bounds, and doctors now have an inkling of what may be the cause of ADD (hint: chemical imbalances between brain synapses)!!!
Read it if you're dealing with ADD in an adult, whether it be you, your spouse, boss, friend, or coworker, who grew up in the '70s or '80s and you want to better understand where they may be coming from. It may also be a decent source if you want to see what your child could end up dealing with as an adult if you don't get him/her a proper diagnosis & help... Otherwise, find a more relevant book to the current thinking on the subject. Since the time of this book's publication, advances in brain research have improved by leaps & bounds, and doctors now have an inkling of what may be the cause of ADD (hint: chemical imbalances between brain synapses)!!!
March 1, 2010
Contains some good self-help strategies, including cognitive-behavioral strategies that can help formulate a good action plan for managing ADD.
However, I was put off by the author's obvious dislike for medication as a strategy for managing ADD, as though taking medication were a sign of weakness or somehow bad for you. Medication is a valid tool in the toolbox of ADD management strategies.
However, I was put off by the author's obvious dislike for medication as a strategy for managing ADD, as though taking medication were a sign of weakness or somehow bad for you. Medication is a valid tool in the toolbox of ADD management strategies.
June 24, 2012
This would have received five stars, but this particular print run left over 20 pages blank throughout chapters 11 and 12 (dealing with ADD in relationships and work - the two areas I was seeking the most guidance).
June 18, 2009
I did not read the whole thing, but there is a quick "exam" in the back to help identify a spectrum of behavior.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews