More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD

Dr. Ari Tuckman has an incredible ability to relate the most relevant and beneficial knowledge regarding ADHD in adults. He has thankfully taken exceptional care in the creation of this must-read book, easy-to-listen-to podcasts that convey much of the information contained in this book, and with the recent release of his sensibly designed workbook, which is by far the most advantageous tool for self-help of adults who suffer from ADHD.Dr. Tuckman has done an extraordinary job in achieving what he titles the Goldilocks principle. This means that the knowledge he conveys is far from being termed fluff but yet not so serious as to lose one's attention or confuse one's understanding.Dr. Tuckman's sincere compassion to truly help those who suffer from this train-wreck of a condition is self-evident in the design, structure, clarity, format, and types of information conveyed throughout this book.Seventeen years ago, at the age of 17, I was diagnosed with this dreadful condition. Being treated with medication allowed me to go from lousy student struggling not to fail out of school to straight A's; graduating with honors from high school. As I began to struggle again in college, I sought out all of the help available. Unfortunately, this mostly consisted of help in the form of accommodations rather than treatment for my deficit of skills. As Dr. Tuckman often states, "pills do not teach skills."During my senior year of college, while attempting to receive appropriate accommodations for the LSAT, I was made aware that I also suffered from the comorbid condition of familial dyslexia. It was demonstrated to me that my reading level was that of a fifth grade student; only one semester before entering law school.As a result of this unsettling news, I sought out every possible treatment available for both ADHD and dyslexia in both the professional medical community and the educational community. This included weekly modification therapy sessions with the most sought after professionals throughout all three years of law school.After graduating from law school and passing the bar, my life has taken a unique path. And the bottom-line is that the absence of learning the proper skills that are essential for effectively treating one's ADHD started taking a grave toll in nearly every avenue of my life.By shear happenstance I came across Dr. Tuckman's amazing series of podcasts. Despite the reality that I was already working diligently with a great behavioral therapist at the time of my discovery of Dr. Tuckman's podcasts, I received more benefit from listening to several of the episodes than I did in all of the years combined since my original diagnosis.Dr. Tuckman's brilliant conveyance of his valuable knowledge lead to the purchase and reading (slowly but surely) of several other very fine books regarding adult ADHD. Each book has been constructive in different ways and they have added to my ability to successfully treat my ADHD symptoms. But, by far, this book is the foundation and cornerstone for one's current understanding of this awful condition!Buy this book! It will literally change one's life. Not only because of the knowledge it teaches but also due to the way that this knowledge is taught. For the amount of money I spent purchasing this book, the return on investment has far exceeded that of anything else in my life (except for the Holy Bible).For the first 17 years of my life, I fought vigorously against an unknown condition with both of my hands tied tightly behind my back. After receiving a life-changing diagnosis and pharmaceutical treatment, one of my arms became untied in the fight against this horrid disorder.Now, I feel, both of may hands are completely untied and the fight against the devastating symptoms of ADHD is finally fair. This book is not simply a game-changer, it's a life-changer! Buy it, read it, apply it and one will be as grateful as I am for Dr. Tuckman's fantastic tome on adult ADHD.ADHD is definitely not a gift. An intelligent comedian who suffers from this condition once properly stated, "I know some see ADHD as a gift, but, given a chance, I would gladly return it." Adult ADHD severely impairs numerous areas of one's life and prevents one from realizing their dreams. So I absolutely agree with Dr. Tuckman's assertion that giving it any credit for the many gifts and talents that one possesses is not accurate and thus not necessary.With that shift in my paradigm regarding ADHD being a gift, I have made more progress towards my long-term goals and dreams than at any previous point in my life. With all of this said, BUY THE BOOK & USE IT TO MOVE MOUNTAINS FOR ANY ADULT WHO SUFFERS FROM ADHD!

I've been wondering about whether people without ADD/ADHD should write books about how to live better lives while having ADD/ADHD. The problem isn't that they don't know a lot of people who have it, or that they haven't read a lot of stuff about it, or maybe even seen some of the results that have helped it. The problem is that they just don't actually KNOW ABOUT IT from the perspective of what it's really and truly like. Ari Tuckman's book may be most helpful for people trying to help or live with those with ADD/ADHD.This is a solid, information packed book. It contains little that isn't covered in the other popular ADD/ADHD books (I've read almost of them) but it does offer a few useful insights If you're someone who reads a lot. If that's you, it's worth a fast read. If you're someone who struggles with reading, but you really need some help fast, skip this book and go for Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood  instead.More Attention Less Deficit has it's plusses. It's very well organized broken into chapters, subchapters and then the material itself, so it's brilliant for skimming. The author may be going to far however and in many cases I would have appreciated less bulleting and more meat.Perhaps my biggest insight came from, "It Starts with Stopping," the idea that a little pause before you come to a decision, or act on a decision, or blurt out whatever is welling up inside of you, will help hugely. Since I have some kind of problem with exactly this every single day, this concept is potentially life changing.For me the other choicest gem is the point that you simply cannot remember something that you didn't perceive in the first place. This means slowing down and paying attention long enough to not only see/hear/read something, but taking enough time to comprehend what you just saw/heard/read and making sure that your brain does something with it. In the few days I've been practicing this the difference has been enormous.These two points alone made this book worth the couple of hours read.is worth repeating but unfortunately he mostly points this out without offering a way to become consistent.Even so, the third point of value is really grasping at a very deep level Dr. Tuckman's mantra that success requires consistency. I think, more than anything, this may be the central problem ADD/ADHD folks have in getting what they want. The book offers no help at all for becoming more consistent, but for me the stunning clarity of this idea may contain the seeds of some kind of adaptation.My biggest complaint, which stems from the "not been there, not done that" issue, is the book's main point of view that people with ADHD are handicapped. By who's measure? Relative to what or whom?Look, there are things ADD/ADHD people are good at and things they're bad at. And yes, there are lots of things may be bad at, that you think everyone else is good at. If you want to be more successful and happy, it will be valuable and important to understand those things, and then make choice which maximize your strengths and develop strategies to minimize your deficiencies. But none of that makes you handicapped, and I honestly don't need a book to tell me that I am.My other beef is with the author's assertion that ADD/ADHD has no upside, and confers no special advantages. In this he's just plain wrong. This review isn't the place for me to celebrate having ADD/ADHD, but the peculiar mental architecture offers superior pattern recognition, artistic, and creative skills, as well as the ability to juggle and process disparate information faster than the rest of the population. But that's the subject of another book, isn't it.

RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE, PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM ADHD, ACADEMICS, DOCTORS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, PARENTS WITH CHILDREN WITH ADHD, ROMANTIC PARTNERS WHO WANT TO HELP THERE PARTNER ON HIS PROBLEM, TEACHERS, TEACHERS FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS. It's probably the most useful book ever read. Ari tuckman describes ADHD through every aspect using a scientific explanation to understand the roots, causes, symptoms, feelings and functions of an ADHD person. It gives a throughly explainable and realible diagnosis for ADHD, giving also the innovative part of diagnostic criteria for adults.It provides various scientifically proven medical 100% succesful treatments for ADHD while explaining potential options to peak the treatment that fits you most. It also offers some alternative functional treatments for people who cannot use common ADHD medication. It explains in a fashionable and really understandable way the functionality of the brain of a person suffering from ADHD while it emphasizing to the explanation of the problem. It continues with various different examples of an ADHD person through his daily life and explains the difficulties he faces in every single situation giving substantial tangible examples. It explains non-medical treatments that an ADHD person should follow in order to organize and manage his life in a more effective way. It suggests tips that can help develop skills which will help an ADHD person to follow its commitments without being disorganized. This is done by tips which can help memorize things to do, organize meetings and helping starting and finishing boring jobs. It generally provides many tips that teach skills whereas pills do not. Moreover, it emphasizing on the ineffectiveness of non-traditional treatments which an ADHD person should avoid. Also, Ari Tuckman mentions various ways of practicing thinking in order to build an ADHD person self-esteem and therefore believe to himself that can do more than he can imagine, this is the most inspirational part of the book. Following, the writer gives several solutions for an ADHD person to organize and manage his memory. The same thing happen within the chapter of organizing time but with a more detailed way. It continues by giving various effective solutions how an ADHD person can stay consistently organized. Some of these solutions include using technology gadgets like watch reminders or more simple things like keeping a calendar and notes.It also explains how to complete a work that requires continuous uninterrupted mental effort, a REALLY GREAT STRUGGLE for ADHD persons. Moreover, it says how to organize your life at home, meaning, for example, how to do the boring housework and stay organized on paying your bills, check your e-mails and do the necessary shopping by keeping a list. After all, it elaborates with the struggling life part of a person suffering from ADHD, relationships and friendships. This part, in my opinion, has a direct impact on the feelings and the general psychology that the ADHD person develops which is interconnected with the rest of his (maybe insurmountable) problems. About academic performance, the book describes ways how to be more effective regarding the studythat the ADHD person must do and especially how to be more EFFICIENT. Many strategies are mention in the book concerning this issue. The same thing happens about job giving more emphasis if the job fits your interest or not, or how to find the job that interest you most or if you must find a new job. Finally it gives a list of various official, reliable and helpful websites whereas you can find anything regarding ADHD,like therapy groups, learning centers, publications etc.

The best book on adult ADHD by far. Would strongly recommend Ari Tuckman's podcasts too. If, like me, you were diagnosed late in life after many years feeling stupid and blaming yourself for your symptoms, reading this book will make you much kinder and more forgiving towards yourself. It's also refreshingly free of cloying, sugar-coated goo and rambling anecdotes that swell the pages of so many self-help books from the US. Highly recommended.

Once again a book that overpromises and under delivers.As someone with ADHD this book is absolutely no use to me whatsoever. Way too long and wordy and written without applying any thought about engaging us.Short to the point would have been better especially in respect to skills to get the best out of ourselves.

bored as soon as i opened it - was full of optimism but it is hard to get in to - not ADHD friendly in my opinion. sent it back

I absolutely love the way this book is written with ADHD readers in mind - sounds so obvious, but a great many books are not! I have ADHD myself, and struggle to maintain both attention and interest when faced with unbroken pages full of densely worded text - but this book isn't like that. Most paragraphs are relatively short - but even better, not only is the book divided up into sections and chapters, it is also then subdivided into Articles (189 of them!) on various subjects - thus giving bite-size chunks of information, and the ability to easily dip in and out of the book as you wish!I bought the Kindle version - which I highly recommend, and as it gives me even smaller and easily readable blocks of text - but the original print version looks excellent too, and I am sorely tempted to buy a copy to leave lying around, in the hope that my family will read it and gain a little more insight into why I behave as I do! (The first chapter, on Executive Functions would be fantastic for this!)