ADHD and Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 176 pages
• Published by: New Harbinger Publications
• Edition: 1st Edition February 2, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1572245220
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1572245228
• Book Dimensions: 7.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Weighs: 8 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
A college freshman this fall, Taylor was five when he was diagnosed with ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He's been medicated all these years, but even when he remembered to take his pills, that's only been a small part of his learning to cope with ADHD. Taylor's still more impulsive, more hyperactive and more open to distractions than others. He can also be more energetic and more passionate than anyone else. He has learned to see his neurological differences as a mixed blessing—yes, he's obsessive, but channeled toward a good cause, that can translate to hyperfocused. He veers off the subject, but that can spur creativity, thinking outside the box. Taylor relates the stories of his ADHD mishaps in no special order—how he set fire to the dining room in ninth grade, how he was bullied in sixth grade, how he was victimized by his first-grade teacher—as if to emphasize that a variety of problems can always happen. After describing each incident, he follows up with a cause and effect discussion of what he learned from what went wrong, followed by a solutions section, a few brief tips for other kids to try. Taylor speaks to fellow teens and their families with an authority few experts can muster. (Feb.)
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Product Description


Blake Taylor's memoir, written when he was 17, offers, for the first time, a young person's account of what it's like to live and grow up with this common condition. Join Blake as he foils bullies, confronts unfair teachers, struggles with distraction and disorganization on exams, and goes sailing out-of-bounds and ends up with a boatload of spiders. It will be an inspiration and companion to the millions of others like him who must find a way to thrive with a different perspective than many of us.

The book features an introduction by psychologist Lara Honos-Webb, author of The Gift of ADHD, and a leading advocate for kids with ADHD.

Blake's mother first suspected he had ADHD when he, at only three years of age, tried to push his infant sister in her carrier off the kitchen table. As time went by, Blake developed a reputation for being hyperactive and impulsive. He launched rockets (accidentally) into neighbor's swimming pools and set off alarms in museums. Blake was diagnosed formally with ADHD when he was five years old. In this book, he tells about the next twelve years as he learns to live with both the good and terrible sides of life with ADHD.

Reader Reviews
What a wonderful book this is for anyone diagnosed with ADHD or for anyone who lives with, works with or teaches a child with ADHD! As the friend in the book who first suggested that Blake be taken to a specialist and as a children's librarian I HAD to read the book. I was a little skeptical. Would I just feel it was wonderful simply because Blake's mother, Nadine, has been one of my closest friends since our freshman year at Vassar? This proved not to be true. I would be enthusiastic about the book whether I knew the family or not. I am also the mother of a son with ADHD who is now 27. We have experienced together the roller coaster ride of ADHD with it's highs and lows and the cruelty that is sometimes heaped on children with this "invisible disability" at school and from family and friends who do not understand that ADHD is a reason and not an excuse. If you are a teen with ADHD or the parent or teacher of a child with ADHD do yourself a favor and read this book. Blake's writing style is sweet and vulnerable. Reading between the lines will both break your heart and give you hope. His descriptions of his parents and his grandparents were so wonderful that I could hear their voices in my mind as I read and had to laugh as it was so easy for me to envision his mother's reactions to some of the things he did. However, Blake's ideas at the end of each chapter are excellent advice and not to be missed. Blake has truly turned his disability into a gift. Read this book and you will undoubtedly agree.