Chapter Summaries

Strategy 1: Release the stigma

60% of adults, teens and children battling symptoms of ADHD don’t ask for help, or ask to be assessed because of the stigma of ADHD. How can you break through the stigma, move forward and get the help you need?

Strategy 2: Ask who is pointing the finger

For children, it’s often teachers or relatives. For adults, it’s your spouse, partner or boss. Should you listen? What training gives teachers the expertise to diagnose ADHD? You’ll be surprised at Dr. Svec’s answer.

Strategy 3: Get a complete assessment

You can’t diagnose ADHD in 5 minutes. Learn what makes up a comprehensive assessment and why it is so important to get it right.

Strategy 4: Understanding Complex ADHD

Complex ADHD is diagnosed when ADHD is present with either a learning disability or gifted profile, or both. This chapter discusses how you can begin to understand this and what you should do about it. Dr. Svec also addresses why ignoring gifted potential and focusing on ‘what is wrong’ with a child is a common mistake.

Strategy 5: Build structure

So you’ve been diagnosed. Now what? The first step is learning to build a structure, moving from outside controls to internal ones.

Strategy 6: Self-task matching

This strategy, developed by Dr. Svec, is vital for coping with ADHD. Learn how to make the most of this strategy from late elementary school to adulthood.

Strategy 7: Build self-esteem

How does ADHD destroy our self-esteem? Discover how unmanaged effort and rapid fluctuations in focus can lead you to making negative statements about yourself. Learn to say no and replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Self-esteem is the engine that drives performance. Learn how to improve self-esteem each day.

Strategy 8: Getting the right treatment

In this chapter, Dr. Svec explains the use of medication and neuro-feedback to alter brain chemistry. Strategies to keep track of changing moods and focus are discussed.

Strategy 9: Fight depression

Does ADHD come with depression, or do we get depressed because of the negative life experiences brought on by ADHD? Dr. Svec explores this question, as well as specific strategies for fighting depression.

Strategy 10: Building social-emotional intelligence

Acting impulsively, or speaking without thinking is discussed. Dr. Svec offers powerful strategies for learning social-emotional skills that can help you improve your social-emotional intelligence.

Strategy 11: Learning how to advocate

Advocacy is about fighting for your rights and getting what you need by speaking out. Find out which strategies you should use and why you need to be careful when you use them.

Strategy 12: Building great relationships

Adults with ADHD report that problems in relationships are the most significant issue caused by ADHD. This chapter discusses what you should do if you have ADHD and are in a relationship, or if you are living with a partner with ADHD.

Strategy 13: Exercise

Learn how to use exercise to increase your level of focus.

Strategy 14: Parenting your ADHD child

Parenting any child is tough enough. How do you parent a child with ADHD? What if you as a parent have ADHD and are parenting a child who also has the diagnosis?

Strategy 15: Accepting your ADHD success

You know how to handle failure. You’ve faced it before. But what do you do when you use the strategies taught in this book and become wildly successful? How do you handle that success?

Putting it all together

Remembering the most important strategies.

Finding my ADHD success: Josh’s story

In the final chapter, Joshua discusses his experiences with ADHD, frustrations with teachers and the different strategies he used to excel in the classroom and on the athletic field.