Our Guide to Essential ADHD Resources to Empower Your Family
"A Ferrari brain with bicycle brakes" – Dr Edward M. Hallowell
As we celebrate ADHD Awareness Month this October, we want to dedicate this article to raising awareness about ADHD, especially in the context of our organisation accompanying neurodiverse families. Our focus today is on providing helpful resources for those seeking to better understand or support children with ADHD.
Rather than diving deeply into theory, our goal is to guide you towards valuable sources of information. Below, you’ll find a list of recommended books for general understanding and specialised parenting guides, as well as podcasts and websites. We hope these resources will help you on your journey to better comprehend, harness and thrive with ADHD.
An easy read and a life-changing book on ADHD
Do you want to understand what ADHD is? Get a basic plan to live and thrive with it? Read about solutions to the obstacles and doom and gloom of ADHD?
We recommend you read ADHD Explained: Your Toolkit to Understanding and Thriving by Dr Edward M. Hallowell. “This book is intended to guide you through the Land of ADHD, step by step, chapter by chapter”. It is easy to read, it has illustrations, bullet points, and lots of little boxes containing pearls of wisdom about ADHD that the author has learned over the last 40 years.
One of our favourites was: "Telling someone with ADHD to try harder is like telling someone who’s short-sighted to squint harder."
Out of all the books we have read, this is by far the best.
Click here to buy a copy (affiliate link)
NB: While we have yet to read them, we have also heard that ‘Driven to Distraction’, another of Dr Hallowell’s books, is an excellent practical guide, and ADHD 2.0 has been described as ‘a must’. Check out the full catalogue on his website.
Helping children with ADHD
We suggest starting with this easy guide from the ADHD Foundation called “Understanding and Supporting My Child’s ADHD”. They also created a comic-style activity book “Detectives Ruben and Elena learn all about ADHD” that you can use to teach children.
For those who wish to go deeper, Step by Step Help for Children with ADHD: A Self-Help Manual for Parents is our recommendation for those who are finding it exhausting and sometimes distressing to raise a child with ADHD.
Based on research and extensive clinical experience, it sets out a flexible six-step programme full of tried-and-tested ideas for parents and professionals supporting families of young children with ADHD. It aims to arm you with the appropriate knowledge, and the right tools, to intervene to manage your child's behaviour, leading to improved relationships at home and, it is hoped, a more successful time at school.
Click here to buy a copy (affiliate link)
How to survive the teenage years?
We would start with an easy brochure from the ADHD Foundation called “A Teenager’s Guide to ADHD”.
ADHD & Teens: A Parent's Guide to Making it through the Tough Years is packed with ideas and advice for parents. It includes tips on supporting teens at school, explains the principles of positive discipline, and offers guidance on developing social skills, navigating dating challenges, and more.
Let’s be honest - the layout and presentation of the book can be a bit overwhelming, which might make it harder to read. However, if you're looking for practical solutions, it's worth pushing past that to dive into the wealth of useful ideas it contains.
Click here to buy a copy (affiliate link)
What about medication?
Anyone familiar with ADHD will likely face the dilemma of whether to opt for medication or not. The best approach is to educate yourself: listen, read, and gather as much information as possible. A great starting point is The Parents' Guide to ADHD Medicines by Professor Peter Hill.
This reassuring guide explains prescribed ADHD medicines for children in clear, everyday language, based on questions the author has received from countless families in his work as a Consultant Psychiatrist.
Click here to buy a copy (affiliate link)
Beyond books
Podcasts: We like Hidden 20%, a weekly show featuring a variety of guests chatting to host Ben about the positives & challenges of thinking differently.
We featured this podcast in more detail in our May edition of Eyebrow Raisers, while our June edition featured Ologies podcast deep dive into the science of ADHD.
Website: The one-stop shop is the ADHD Foundation… Browse, explore and stop at their resources centre – full of practical guides for adults, children, parents, families and much more!
We hope this article has given you a good starting point to get informed, find the right tools and resources to navigate ADHD.
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