Review of "You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!"
3 stars
Now that I have a library card, I've started doing the research on ADD that I've always wanted to do, to better understand how Hubz acts and communicates.
The first book I read was "Driven to Distraction" by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. It was a little dated (first published 1992) but super informative–almost too informative, as it followed several case studies in both adults and children. I learned later the book is considered among the gold standards in ADD research. I can understand why; I came away from it feeling like I better understood how Hubz thinks. More importantly, I knew how to explain his mental distractions and hard-wired impulses, enabling me to not interpret them as direct assaults.
Next on my list was this one, "You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!" Where the last book had a psychological angle, this book was kinda all over the …
Now that I have a library card, I've started doing the research on ADD that I've always wanted to do, to better understand how Hubz acts and communicates.
The first book I read was "Driven to Distraction" by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. It was a little dated (first published 1992) but super informative–almost too informative, as it followed several case studies in both adults and children. I learned later the book is considered among the gold standards in ADD research. I can understand why; I came away from it feeling like I better understood how Hubz thinks. More importantly, I knew how to explain his mental distractions and hard-wired impulses, enabling me to not interpret them as direct assaults.
Next on my list was this one, "You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!" Where the last book had a psychological angle, this book was kinda all over the place. Self-help, biology, empowerment, psychology: the writing feels scattered and overwhelming.
I should admit though, it's a little weird to read a self-help book for a disorder I don't have. For example, there was an extensive section describing body language and how to communicate while in groups. While all the tips felt obvious to me, to the point where I thought the authors were patronizing their readers, perhaps this is the exact detailed description someone with ADD needs. Especially in 1993, when this was originally published, and when there weren't as many resources available.
But some of the tips the writers provided just weren't practical. One tip was to time how long people talk in a group conversation. Ideally, this was to help the ADD adult to know how long to speak and to not monopolize the conversation. But I can't imagine this person would make many friends if they were always checking their watch while people were talking.
Another tip was to close your office door if you find your work environment too distracting. (Especially that loud fax machine!) Super helpful for everyone who has office doors. And if your family dinner is disrupted by noisy pets, maybe it's time to find one of those furry rascals a new home.
After that last advice, it was difficult to take the rest of this book seriously.
I feel these writers' hearts were in the right place, and maybe it was a necessary resource at the time it was published, but I don't think I came away from this book with anything new or useful.