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ADHD & Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table |  | Author: Blake E. S. Taylor
Publisher: New Harbinger Pubns
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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New (33) Used (33) Collectible (3) from $3.58
Seller: Bookstr
Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 48686
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 176
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 6 x 0.5
ISBN: 1572245220
Dewey Decimal Number: 618.9285890092
EAN: 9781572245228
ASIN: 1572245220
Publication Date: February 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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 bad sides of life with ADHD.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
 A Must Read! July 28, 2010
Laurie (Arkansas)
As a female with ADHD, I have focused my research on gender differences in the disorder. I liked Blake's practical suggestions. Actually reading about someone going through it, I realized that some of the little things I didn't like about myself were actually symptoms that you don't usually read about in general descriptions of ADHD. I didn't realize I had tics until he described his and I did some more research on it, and discovered that some of the embarrassing things I do aren't really my fault. Even though I wasn't even diagnosed until I was 24 (I'm now 26), I find so much more confidence in myself knowing that some of the problems I faced throughout high school and college weren't just because I was inferior or defective. I found his nuanced account of what life is like for him very helpful.
 Perfect book for a child or adult living with adhd June 26, 2010
LPE
I'm reviewing this for the individual actually living with add or adhd. I can't and won't speak to what a person who does not have this "disorder" might take from it.
This is a short and brilliant little book, in which a young man who has yet to be jaded by the adult world and has been incredibly well-supported by his family explains, honestly and with a good degree of insight, how his life experiences have been impacted by having adhd. This book was more or less what I was looking for and something I simply haven't been able to find in the clinical literature. If you look up a definition of adhd, you get a list of symptoms that you are somehow supposed to match your or another's behavior to. Over time I've realized that not only are those lists not terribly useful but they frequently are completely useless and leave a great deal of uncertainty about what is adhd and what is behavior that is separate from that and it's really sort of impossible to diagnose from these lists (or by visiting so-called "professionals" - but that is a different issue). In order to understand a disorder, you really have to hear stories from people who have lived with it. Those are the symptoms you have to look for.
The other problem with books by and assistance from people who are not intimately familiar with a disorder is that they generally contain absolutely useless advice. An example would be orderliness. It's good and well to say, you need to organize yourself. But when you present something in a vacuum like that, it induces stress and intimates a negative trait on the listener's part - as though being "organized" in a very traditional way is the only correct way to do things and anything other than that is incorrect. And a number of people (maybe most? I don't honestly know) actually believe this to be true. Those of us who operate with a lack of obvious organization (from the perspective of an external party) know that our systems generally work well, oftentimes much better than what appear to us to be pathologically "organized" systems. But the point is that you know what works best for you. When someone else has already dealt with your underlying issues, the advice they give based on their experience is actually useful. The author offers examples of how he adapted his world to certain types of organization, rejected others, all the time knowing that he would have to see for himself what worked. Throughout the book he does this. The end is particularly insightful, speaking to the positive and unique abilities of those with adhd in the form of a short list. And what's nice about that is that it underlines that while adhd may represent a different way of being or processing information or interacting with the world, it doesn't mean that it is an incorrect way or really represents a disorder. It just means that to do what you want to in this world, you may need to adapt your behavior to those who have less creativity and insight.
And yes, he does say medication helped him immensely. I don't know of anyone with adhd it has not helped and I see no reason for people not to do things that help them and do not hurt others and so I think it's a very responsible and appropriate statement for the author to repeat. he's explaining what works for him.
Sometimes a teen can only learn the hard way. June 22, 2010
B. Wolinsky (New York)
Decades ago, ADHD was not understood, and kids with the disorder were treated as "bad kids". In recent years, kids with ADHD have received more "reasonable accommodations". When such a boy/girl does something wrong, there's a debate on whether or not to penalize the child. But whether you take away the TV, take away the Nintendo, or make the kid clean up the mess, one question remains; what happens to the kid when he/she is 20 years old? Your boss at work will not care if you have ADHD, nor will a Judge and Jury. There's no such thing as the ADHD defense.
Blake's story shows how kids with ADHD may have no choice but to learn the hard way. Take for instance the part where he's at a sailing club and breaks a safety rule. He ends up needing to be rescued, and gets banned from the premises. He can't use ADHD as an excuse now, because unlike a teacher in a classroom, the owner doesn't have to make any accommodations for ADHD.
Blake ends up learning the hard way, when he starts a fire on the kitchen table and his parents refuse to let him learn to drive.
If you or your child have a.d.d., READ THIS!!! March 15, 2010
Holly Curtis (Virginia)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Whether you have a child who is ADD/ADHD -- or YOU are ADD/ADHD -- please read this book. It is such a short-read, but makes such an impact on your heart & mind. Something that really stuck with me through this book, was how the author talks about how he is sudden-outbursts of ticks on a regular basis, and now it really effected his life...even effected his chances of getting into a very-strict private school.
It is SO true--so much is relatable for ANYONE with add/adhd--but ESPECIALLY kids. I was 17 when I read this book, and it made me feel sooo sooo soo very happy and content to realize this boy went through many similar things as i did throughout my public-school career, and it gave me much peace inside from reading his lovely tips/inspirational writing/and good recommended resources.
I still think of this book a LOT, from time to time. And..it's such a darn short read. Give it a chance.
ADHD & Me January 18, 2010
K. J. Williams (Delaware)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a very insightful explanation of ADHD written by a young may with this diagnosis. It is helpful for all family members of a child diagnosed with ADHD. It helped me understand the actions of my grandson and made me better able to accept his reactions to various situations.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
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