Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Explaining ADHD to DD11

I need a resource that has a print out or good website for DD11 (rising 7th grader) concerning ADHD inattentive type. I realized the other day that DD11 didn't understand ADHD well when she told me "well, isn't it a brain disorder?", and she was speaking of herself as someone horribly flawed (she has a very low opinion of herself anyway). I have created a document which starts out by listing famous people with ADHD. Now I need to add some paragraphs explaining how it works without it coming across as an incredibly negative diagnosis. One website for teens diagnosed with ADHD goes on to give the percent of kids who are apt to commit suicide or do drugs. I just don't need that information on her radar. Other sites explain it to kids comparing their ADHD brains to race cars which sounds way too young.
Thanks for your help!!

American Psychological Association (APA) offers some books explaining ADHD to children. Here is one article about a newer release (3rd edition of their original book, Putting On The Brakes). The back cover shows it is intended for ages 8-13.

Here is APA's list of books on ADHD, through Magination Press. They range from books made with very young children in mind to books for teens at college, and the list even includes a book especially for girls: Attention, Girls! A Guide to Learn All About Your AD/HD.

There is a feature which allows you to "Start reading this book online", to allow you to see a bit of the content, style, and approach of the book(s) which you may be interested in.

A distinct advantage to providing your child with a book is that you may pre-read it prior to giving it to your child, and you will be familiar with what the books says. By contrast, if providing a child with an online website, even after a parent pre-reads it, there is no guarantee that the content will remain the same. Information could be changed, added, removed. New links to other resources could be added as well.

LOL, with my DD her brain is not a race car, it's more like a tank (which I got from one of the Davidson articles about slow processing speed). Slow but very powerful.

There was some sort of kids' guide to ADHD book that I checked out at the library at one point. Unfortunately can't remember the exact name.

We have found that off-the-shelf resources are generally inaccurate for 2Es-- they tend to describe problems that aren't there for 2E kids and/or not describe problems that are there. Sometimes that makes things worse rather than better-- again, IME.

It can be more useful to make your own metaphor that feels very accurate to this child's particular experience, so that the child feels that you really get it, and are helping them to get it.

As APA's books explaining ADHD tend to draw from APA's official diagnostic criteria (DSM-5), the degree to which any particular book or off-the-shelf resource would tend to match a particular child's experience may be approximated by the degree to which that child matches the diagnostic criteria.

It is beneficial for a parent to pre-read a book prior to giving it to his/her child.

The APA factsheet on ADHD is here.
The CDC summarizes current diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) for ADHD, here.
The APA factsheet on ASD is here.
The CDC summarizes current diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) for ASD, here.

As with giftedness, a child need not exhibit all characteristics to receive the label.

Each child is unique.

A perspective I like includes looking at the mirror strengths of ADHD "deficits":

http://www.hallowellnyc.com/HallowellNYC/LivingwithADD/BenefitsYesBenefitsofHavingADDA/index.cfm

I don't agree with everything he says, but I do like the general strength-based philosophy behind Dale Archer's book:

https://www.amazon.com/ADHD-Advantage-Diagnosis-Greatest-Strength/dp/1594633517

From NASP, this is the overview on ADHD:

https://www.nasponline.org/Document...D_a_Primer_For_Parents_and_Educators.pdf

My 2e kids are dealing with a different set of challenges (not ADHD), but fwiw, we've found DeeDee's advice to work really well. Another thing that has helped us is finding bios of real-life adults who've shared the same challenges (it's also helped me find ways to support my kids by reading about what worked/didn't work in the childhood experiences of successful adults who'd shared the same type of challenges).



I can't comment directly on this since I haven't read it and we're not dealing with ADHD, but fwiw one of my children is dyslexic, and there is a lot of information out there (and books by successful dyslexic adults) that portray the mirror strengths of dyslexics. Looking at mirror strengths has been helpful to a certain extent, but our neuropsych also cautioned about going too overboard on this track (which I know aeh wouldn't!) - our neuropsych's concern was triggered by the concept put forward in some literature that dyslexia is a "gift" because of those mirror strengths, and her concern was that it minimizes the reality that no matter how wonderful those mirror strengths may be, the person is still dealing with a very real challenge.

Best wishes,

polarbear

Good point, pb, and one of the reasons I am cautious about Dale Archer, who may take the strength-based perspective a bit to the extreme. Hallowell's list, though, pairs the deficits and strengths on a more balanced basis. (He has a book, too, the classic "Driven to Distraction": https://www.amazon.com/Driven-Distraction-Revised-Recognizing-Attention/dp/0307743152.)

Driven to Distraction book.

I agree with both of you.

We do a lot of "nuancing" work on this. "It's a disability when I... and then..." "but it's not a disability when..." Making the description situational helps a person see it in terms other than black and white-- disability isn't just in the person, it's in the person's interface with a particular context.

That's useful because it makes the disability not "a permanent problem with you" but rather more like "oh, in this context I have to watch out for ZYX because of ... ."