ADD-Is It Me
by Cameron R. Lorenc, MA
Published by Slight Edge
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Reviewed by Elizabeth Bright
Subtitled: A Personal Account
The day this book arrived, I sat down to read a little bit as ADD runs in our family. Well, I read the whole thing in one setting (obviously I don’t have ADD as reading can be one of their strongest challenges).
Marriage, family and child therapist Cameron Lorenc has a story to tell—and it is his. When he was 58 years old, he realized that he had ADD—and that it had affected his and his father’s entire life. Personal stories will help you see in yourself or someone you love, what causes struggles and what comes easy.
Now as a professional who works with many families with children with ADD, or adults who have certain issues—when Lorenc hears certain comments, he asks them whether they have ADD.
The checklist of 20 “Common ADD symptoms” was eye-opening for me as the mother of a son who spent years of frustration, humiliation and sense of failure in school. As a parent—or an adult who wonders—if you read nothing but the 60 self-assessment questions on page 26, you’ll learn about or confirm things!
If only my son’s teachers would have had this book, his elementary life would have been better. Lorenc says that elementary teachers are better at using the three learning styles/modalities of visual, motor and auditory. A child’s conversations, questions and behaviors can help parents identify and determine which modality their child works best in.
Here is where effective parental and teacher help can make a difference. Teaching a skill over and over might be the only way to help your child, because when he “suddenly” gets it—when the switch if flipped on—it is worth the time. This is where your child can learn to learn how to work around, over and through the glass wall. Once however your child hits middle school and then high school, their fate might be set. The “glass wall” might just be more than your child can face every day.
Lorenc journaled his adult “medication journey” of non-stimulating and stimulants to find the right intervention, showing the importance of balance as well as the subtle changes and aspects of having ADD.
Armchair Interviews says: IF you or someone (of any age) you love has ADD or you suspect they do, run, don’t walk, to order this book. It will lift the cloudiness of the unknown and help everyone involved.
Author’s Web site: http://www.CameronLorenc.com