Adults and ADHD

Recently, I decided to update and expand my little ADHD library at home and came upon More Attention, Less Deficit by Ari Tuckman, PsyD. a noted psychologist who specializes in working with ADHD and other executive function issues.

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This book was recommended to me a long time ago by another clinician whom I highly respect in this area but I had forgotten about her book recommendation and life went on. Well, I have finally gotten around to buying it and reading it and I'm very glad I did!

I work with many adults and ADHD is a real struggle for a lot of them. Often they ask me for book recommendations and I really didn't have any I liked before reading this book. All the books I have in my library are written for the professional in the mental health field and I just didn't feel like an average reader would want to have to deal with all the professional jargon these books usually entail and they tend to be long winded as well. Dr. Tuckman's book is written specifically for adults wanting to learn more about the diagnosis of ADHD, as well as the various types of treatment available for this issue.

There are many reasons why I like this book, one is the actual book itself. How Dr. Tuckman physically laid it out is amazing! Since this is a book written for people who may struggle with distraction concerns and short attention spans, every chapter has a summary of the topics covered in that chapter up front. Therefore, one can make sure that the information in that chapter is helpful or it can be skipped altogether. Also, if one is pressed for time, one can focus on the information that is needed in that chapter and ignore the rest of the topics. I thought this was pure genius since so many clients I have worked with in the past discussed how much of a struggle it was for them to complete a book from cover to cover. This book is designed so that one can easily skip around, it's all about obtaining the exact information the reader needs. Each page of the book is perforated in order to easily track what a reader has already read, another specific layout that helps the ADHD reader.

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Another reason, I like the book, is that as a clinician, I see and hear so many myths in terms of what ADHD is as well as treating this brain-based disorder. Dr. Tuckman goes to great lengths to dispel these various myths. I like that he is upfront about where the research is with nontraditional treatment and the lack of scientific evidence in this area, as well as the current deficiencies in the area of proper diagnosis. For instance the Amen Clinics that are starting to pop-up all over the United States are purporting to be able to diagnose ADHD (as well as other mental health concerns) with a brain scan of a specific client, unfortunately, it is not that simple and cannot beat a full clinical history interview (as of yet anyway, maybe future technology will change this).

In summary, I would recommend this book both to my fellow clinicians, as well as to people who want to learn more about adults and ADHD, especially if they have been recently diagnosed ADHD and want to increase their knowledge base. Dr. Tuckman clearly took great pains to make sure this book was highly accessible to everyone and that practical advice could be easily gleaned from his years of experience in this area.

Adults and ADHD is a subject that we should all educate ourselves on more so that we understand their condition better.

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