NASET ADHD SERIES
Book Review #1: One Step Forward Two Steps Back: Living with ADHD/ODD, a Mother’s Perspective (Author: Enelle Lamb)
By Natalie Bayon Keime
Abstract
A review of One Step Forward Two Steps Back: Living with ADHD/ODD, a Mother’s Perspective by Enelle Lamb is presented. This book is a mother’s account of her struggles with her son and his disabilities. Throughout the book she tries to inspire and give advice to parents and teachers of how to help these types of children. The author is also very honest in her account as she expresses her thoughts and says things others might be embarrassed to admit or say. This book is written from the perspective of a parent but analyzed by a general education teacher giving a fresh perspective to the story.
One Step Forward Two Steps Back: Living with ADHD/ODD a Mother’s Perspective
As a general education teacher I have had all types of children in my classroom. Every school year is met with the challenge of trying to educate each child despite their different needs. Enelle Lamb’s book is an honest account of her struggle as a parent of a child diagnosed with both Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). As a teacher, I am only with these children for part of the day but this book took me into the home and life of a parent dealing with a child who has ADHD and ODD. Her book takes the reader through her deepest struggles and most triumphant moments in order to help other parents so that they do not feel as alone and in the dark as she did.
One very prevalent disability in the classroom is Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD is a developmental disorder of self-control. It consists of problems with paying attention, attention span, controlling impulsive behaviors, and the people diagnosed are often overly active. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one in ten school aged children have been diagnosed with ADHD (CDC, 2013). The statistics also states that there are 5.4 million children in the United States diagnosed with ADHD and the number is increasing every year.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder is the second disorder that Enelle Lamb’s son suffers from and that is discussed in her book. When a person has this disorder they typically exhibit patterns of tantrums, argue often with others, have disruptive behaviors with authority figures, and are aggressive towards others. This disorder is often more prone to occur in children that have already been diagnosed with ADHD.
Lamb begins her book with the excitement of the birth of her child. Like every expectant parent she is eager to bring her son home as the newest member of the family. Her first experience with her son is blissful as she holds him and is astonished by his perfection. In hindsight she explains that this was probably one of the quietest moments she ever shared with her son. As she brings him home, her troubles begin. Her son refuses to fall asleep. This was her first indication that her child was different. As she writes, she speaks to the reader directly making the reader a participant in her experience.
As her son grows, her struggles continue. These difficulties lead to the unbelievable thoughts she expresses. No parenting book will ever directly tell you some of the things she experiences and contemplates. These deep and dark reflections were written to truly help parents that are struggling with an ADHD or ODD child. Lamb’s purpose in allowing these feelings to come to light and showing how she deals with them is to benefit the readers of her book as they encounter similar thoughts and feelings.
Throughout the book, Enelle Lamb provides factual information from experts in the field of ADHD and ODD. During the course of her journey with her son, she makes discoveries about the disorders he suffers from. The citations offer evidence to back up what she is discovering on her own. As your read her account, you are gaining scientific knowledge of what children with ADHD and ODD might experience and suffer from. Including this information makes it easier for the reader to understand what she went through. However, as she was experiencing each event she did not have this information. She expresses, “You must first cross a very large no man’s land rife with misinformation, well-intentioned but poor information, and down-right bad information before you can claim your prize. For me the crossing took six long, hard fought years.” I believe that she includes the facts in order to help parents that might be struggling through the same things she was suffering from. Lamb states, “You are truly not alone in your struggles.”
Enelle Lamb provides advice that parents can follow throughout her book. As she learns about the disabilities she makes many mistakes with her son. However, these mistakes lead to the discovery of strategies that helped her throughout her journey. Her most important recommendation is that people join support groups that are available for parents of ADHD children. In her story she affirms, “The problem with raising a child with this disability is that we feel as if we are lost on a desert island. We can spend years searching for clues and solutions before we discover other parents who are struggling with the same things we are. Not surprisingly these are the very people who pass on bits of advice and resources.” This is probably the most powerful piece of advice that she wants struggling parents to grasp.
As I read this book, I often contemplated about the students I have taught over the years. At times, I related to the frustrations that Lamb expressed. When she disagreed with the way the school system treated her son, I was able to consider both sides of the argument. However, as a teacher I have dealt with many parents that are in denial about their child’s disabilities and refuse to get them tested in order for them to receive the proper services. Lamb expresses that she was flabbergasted with a teacher’s suggestion to put her son on medication although she knew her son was different. The anger she expresses towards the teacher is one I disagreed with especially after reading the detailed accounts of her son’s behavior.
Is this book a must read for parents and teachers? Yes! This book is a must read for teachers because it will help them sympathize with the plight of parents that are living with a child suffering from ADHD or ODD. I believe it will broaden the teacher’s perspective and help them come up with new strategies to aid this type of child in the classroom. This book is a must read for all parents. It provides useful strategies and validates the parent’s feelings as they go on their own journey with their child that might be battling with a disability. For parents that do not have a child with a disability, this is also a good read because it will help them become more open minded to the different types of children that might be in a classroom.
Throughout her journey Lamb learns and leaves us with this reflection, “I am passionate about my son’s well-being. I have seen the wonderful, loving, funny, normal child behind the disability, and I know there are other parents out there who feel the same way I do.”
References
Center for Disease and Control Prevention. (2013). Rate of Parent-Reported ADHD Increasing.
Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/features/adhd-parent-reporting.html
Barkley, R. A. (2005). Taking Charge of ADHD- The Complete Authoritative Guide For
Parents. Guilford Press, New York, revised 2005
Barkley, R.A. & Benton, C.M. (1998). Your Defiant Child: Eight Steps to Better Behavior.
Guilford Press, New York.
Book Review #2: Parenting Your Child with ADHD: A No-Nonsense Guide for Nurturing Self-Reliance and Cooperation (Author Craig B. Wiener, Ed.D.)
By Michelle Wilcox, Florida International University
Abstract
A review of Parenting Your Child with ADHD: A No-Nonsense Guide for Nurturing Self-Reliance and Cooperation by Craig B. Wiener, Ed.D. is presented in this article. This book in particular offers ways to understand, reinforce, reduce, and manage dealing with ADHD behavior without the use of medication. This book is a wonderful resource for parents and educators searching for alternative ways to assist children with ADHD with a more natural approach.
Parenting Your Child with ADHD: A No-Nonsense Guide for Nurturing Self-Reliance and Cooperation
Parenting Your Child with ADHD was written by Craig B. Wiener, EdD. Wiener has worked for over thirty years to help individuals diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. He is a licensed psychologist and faculty member in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His years in clinical director of outpatient mental health at the Family Health Center of Worcester and clinical experience in private practice led him to create a unique approach that identifies the factors that contribute to the reinforcement of ADHD behaviors. In this book, Wiener (2012) provides many insightful tools, tips, stories, skits, and clarity to various issues that parents, teachers, and families face when dealing with a child with a disability such as ADHD.
ADHD also known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can be a very challenging disability to manage. Due to the fact that this disability can interfere with a child’s learning and can be very difficult to manage with other siblings in the same household, it tends to be easiest to deal with the disability by simply providing the child with medication. The book Parenting Your Child with ADHD aims to put the reader at ease and give them a richer understanding towards the disability that the child has. Wiener (2012) explains that ADHD is not a permanent health impairment. It is something that your child does rather than something that he has. It’s a pattern of behavior, not a medical condition. This way of thinking is very important due to the fact that once a person hears disability; they automatically associate it with a medical condition and then medication. Open-mindedness is very crucial when it comes to this book in particular because it gears towards what Wiener (2012) would consider to be a powerful new drug-free program.
Patience is a key factor in this book as well due to the fact that it does not focus on medication as a primary source to deal with ADHD. Weiner (2012) in turn discusses the pros and cons of seeking medication as an immediate treatment and provides new ideas towards the understanding and further treatment of this disability.
The book Parenting Your Child with ADHD also provides the comforting idea that ADHD behavior holds solutions. They speak on the conformities and accommodations that may be provided along with its benefits and side effects. Wiener (2012) goes as far as explaining the supporting evidence of biological causes as it’s known to many and a new way to view biology and ADHD. Personal short stories are also provided in this book in order to provide further ease to the reader. Reinforcements and are also mentioned in the book along with the categorization of the reinforcements based on age groups. Wiener (2012) also provides ways and tips to teach a child with ADHD self-care in various aspects of their lives and how to cope within the family. The book also provides sample skits to assist in the clarification of the conflict resolution among family and siblings.
Wiener (2012) does not provide just one method to deal with a child that has ADHD. In his book he does not state nor does he insinuate that there is a single right or wrong way of doing things. The book provides pros and cons, benefits and side effects to the various methods that are provided.
The dialect that is used in the book is very clear and is not full of jargon. This book is very insightful to parents but is not limited to its use. Educators and other professionals can benefit from this book and its guidance.
