New member, feeling overwhelmed :(

[simp118]

I am new here, my 6-year-old daughter has ADHD and also her stepdad (my husband). I kind of feel overwhelmed right now. I have read a lot of info on the internet, but I was wondering if there is any book u can recommend? Thanks in advance for reading.

[ADHD_DAD]

I must confess to reading almost everything I can on the topic of ADHD, but a book we found "helpful " early in our journey was "Late, lost and Unprepared," by Cooper-Kahn and Deitzel. Later, I found "The Edison Gene," by Thom Hartmann fascinating and it reinforced the idea (of which I had become a fan) that the super fast ADHD brain is actually superior to our boring, slow "agrarian " brains. Both are available from Amazon. Neither, however, is a "how to" book, but rather offer insight into ADHD by those with more expertise than I. The closest I could come to describing a "how to" for the management of ADHD is reiterate the 3 legged stool approach that has been successful for us: medications, reasonable accommodations at school (in our case, through a 504 plan) and significant lifestyle modifications at home to help my son function at his best in a world not designed for a brain like his. Best of luck to you. Hang in there!

[anirush]

Books can give you general information but dealing with a child with ADHD is mostly trial and error - what meds may help, what incentives will work with your child, what help can you get from the school. For us medication, an IEP at school and counseling have been a big boost but I have a 15 year old who keeps skipping school so it is frustrating. His older brother is a great student on his medication.

[Momtrying]

Taking charge of ADHD by Russel Barkley is great. He helps you understand how you can better respond to your child’s adhd brain. We cannot change our children, although medication is wonderful! So we need to change how we respond to them and accept their differences. I’d highly recommend reading anything by this author.

[oviparous in reply to Momtrying]

I 100% agree with this recommendation!

[Onthemove1971]

Please feel the love and support from the group as we travel through this journey together. Some of us just started, some of our kids are in high school and some of us are parents of young adults..Our common bond is struggle and what grows from that is an amazing bond where we experience life together..

We are always here for you when you need us..

Big hug.

[N_37]

I feel this - my fiance has ADHD and so does his son, my stepson. It's hard. And it's overwhelming. Books haven't helped me, but these websites have been incredible for me: additudemag.com/ and there are a few accounts on instagram (adhd_things) that make me laugh to take the negativity out of it and remind me that we're all just having human experiences. My SS is 11, 6th grade. I've been in his life since he was 7, and it's been a rough road to medication finally being prescribed 2 months ago! The meds have been super helpful for my SS and it also helps me learn what his personal struggles look like so I can learn more patient (you will always run out, so don't feel guilty.) My fiance was diagnosed as an adult about 7 years ago or so, so he has lived his entire life not knowing what was "wrong" with himself - so he's also learning about ADHD just like I am. I also ask my therapist a lot of questions about kids vs adults with ADHD and what different presentations of it look like so I know what is a symptom, what is something else, or what is personality based. I wont even lie to you - it's a lot of work - but some days are way better than others and eventually you learn how to handle things like clockwork and feel very empowered to handle anything that comes your way. Please know - you are never alone - you have support all around.