BOOK REVIEWS

Driven to Distraction – Hallowell & Ratey

Book review

The best seller that finally let ADHD grow up

This was THE BOOK on ADHD, until it was largely superseded by Delivered from Distraction. A milestone book that moved perceptions on ADHD a long way, and from a doctor with ADHD himself, who understands ADHD is far more complex than simply disorder. In the best-seller “Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood” Edward Hallowell & John Ratey have written the seminal book on ADHD, compassionate yet rigorous.

In Driven the medical professionals with ADHD themselves, Hallowell and Ratey reveal a balanced view of the problems and down-sides of ADHD whilst exploring and revealing the many strengths: “high energy, intuitiveness, creativity, and enthusiasm” … “completely overlooked by the ‘disorder’ model”. The authors suggest Mozart and Einstein as examples of people who are ADHD.

The authors, dispel the myth that ADHD is only found in children or that it is about lack of self-discipline and convincingly argue that ADHD is not an attention deficit but an attention inconsistency: “most of us with ADHD can in fact hyperfocus at times.”

Helpful tips for dealing with ADD in a child, a partner or a family member are given along with some case studies of the many adults who have dealt successfully with their diagnosis.

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ADHD Coach, Andrew Lewis

Andrew Lewis

Andrew Lewis is an ADHD Coach, writer and founder of SimplyWellbeing. He has over ten thousand hours and fifteen years of experience in coaching ADHD executives, business professionals and creatives. His expertise with ADHD is personal, with decades of his own experience, bringing up an ADHD child, running a large support group and in coaching clients often for years He has published his writing via this website and has ADHD online courses in development. His business expertise comes from a twenty years career in software, from programming, through marketing, sales and running a few start-ups.

Further reading

ADHD at work
One of my favourite ADHD kid books, very readable and insightful suggestions and advice
ADHD at work
ADHD brings problems but it can bring strengths too. A guide to finding alignment with interests and strengths
ADHD at work
A helpful guide for couples where one partner is ADHD
ADHD at work
Much of the advice reads as if written for ADHD adults, but then it probably was written for ADDicts
ADHD at work
A helpful ADDiction programme but without a spiritual side
ADHD at work
Not sure we do denial in our matrix-interconnected ADHD minds but an interesting read
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