Attention Deficit Disorder and Learning Disabilities

Your child has a short attention span and can’t sit still for more than five minutes at a time. You notice that despite his intelligence, your child can’t keep up with his schoolwork. Doctors have told you that he has either Attention Deficit Disorder or a learning disability. You’ve consulted dozens of experts for the best treatments, and you’ve received dozens of contradictory responses. You want to make the best choices for your child, but you don’t know where to turn. What now?

This book investigates the maze of conflicting information regarding your child’s specific dilemma. Much more than a simple reference, this comprehensive handbook details the causes, symptoms, and diagnoses, then explores and critiques the possible treatments–from stimulant medications to sugar-free diets, from EEG biofeedback to vitamin supplements. Doctors Ingersoll and Goldstein evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments as well as demystify the often confusing scientific jargon.

• Section I explains the way in which ADHD and learning disabilities are diagnosed and evaluated, including many of the popular myths and misconceptions which have led to so much confusion about these conditions.
• Section II, describes the methods used by the scientific community to evaluate new treatment methods for ADHD and learning disabilities, and compares this approach with the way in which some “alternative treatments” come to public attention.
• Section III provides an overview of controversial treatments which have been put forth as helpful to children with ADHD and learning disabilities. For each of these alternative treatments, a summary and evaluation of the scientific evidence is provided so that you, the reader, can make well-informed decisions concerning the treatment approaches most likely to help the child or children with whose special needs you are concerned. (173 pp.)