Adolescent-Health Books

This is the best book on ADHD that I have read! Sometimes the scenarios were so right on that I felt like the author must live in our house. I feel like I have a much better understanding of my daughter since reading the book. I put into practice some of the tips right away and noticed results immediately. Before reading this, I was still questioning my daughter's diagnosis but not anymore. This book may have saved my daughter's self-esteem as I now feel confident with how to help her get through her hard times.

My daughter's pediatrician recommended this book. It is a look into my daughter's present struggle with an explanation of "why" & how to help. It gives insight into her future struggles & how to prepare & possibly even avoid some situations. It explains the DIFFERENT way ADHD affects girls than boys! Highly recommended!

I would highly recommend this book to parents and guardians of girls with ADHD. I saw many of my daughter's behaviors and symptoms very clearly at each stage of her life - how I wish I had had this book when she was younger! We were fortunate to have a pre-school teacher who was experienced enough to point out to us the "red flags" she was observing with our daughter's behavior in the classroom and how she related to other children, and she was professional enough not to diagnose her, but referred us to neurologist who made the diagnosis, so we caught her ADHD early, which made a huge difference. This is an eye-opening book, and will help prepare you for what may be coming as your child progresses through school and life stages. It has given me the information that I needed to understand how I can help my daughter succeed and grow and how to relate to her effectively now and in the future. Now I know why she's so tired when she comes home from school and this book makes it so obvious! The real-life examples are riveting and heart-breaking and will make any good parent want to do anything they can to help their daughter avoid those pitfalls that these women experienced throughout their lives. Bravo to the authors for recognizing that research done on boys with ADHD can only provide a piece of the puzzle - we all know that boys and girls are different and as a result, present ADHD symptoms and behaviors in different ways, as you will see when you read this book. Don't hesitate to buy this book - you will be glad you did and your daughter will be too!

would have helped me understand my daughter, and myself, better. This book presents the research in a way any parent can understand. It also let me know what to expect for the future. Most of the books I've read ignore the differences between ADD in boys and girls-- not this one. This book should be handed to parents of ADD girls as soon as the diagnosis is made, if not sooner.

After being frustrated and watching my daughter start to fail I was finally able to convince teachers that she had a problem with add, just because your daughter is not bouncing off the walls doesn't meant there isn't a problem. This book help me to explain many painful experiences so that the staff was able to finally step in and help. My daughter is now in excelled classes, not on meds and yes we still have our interesting days but we are able to handle them better. Our social worker used this book to give an inservice during the summer. Teachers are often taught to identify boys who cause problems as add candidates. Girls who are day dreamers or chatty cathys are overlooked, and often highly intelligent children mimic add qualities, and are just 'hardwired' differenly, they can be seen as challenging authority and problems, too often used as tutors to their classmates, when they get home is when they have a melt down, but being people pleasers somehow hold it together all day at school and save it for mom. Get the book! It saved our family.

I bought this book for myself and my 18 year old son to read before he left for college this fall. I read it first and then let him read it. The Volkmann family did a great job of communicating to the reader the dangers of teenage drinking. My son went to numerous parties during high school where alcohol was present. Our son told us about the drinking going on at these parties and I began to realize what a serious problem exists concerning teenage drinking. I hope that many parents will read this book and realize that teenage drinking is not something to be taken lightly. Many parents do not realize what can happen to their teens who take part in this dangerous activity. I encourage any parents of a teen to read this book and then make their teen read it as well and then discuss the book with your child.

This book should be read by every parent who has pre-teen/teen kids and should be made a mandatory book in every high school. It is a true eye opener and very insperational.

I found this to be extremly informative , seeing both sides of bing drinking and the perceptions of the family as well as the Alcoholic. I read this while my son (who also asked for help) was in rehab for his 21st birthday. He is now reading my copy. I found I could identfy with alot of the thoughts/situations as well as the codependent/alcoholic behaviors. As I work on my codependence and my son works on his sobriety I strongly encourage anyone with a teen/young adult afflicted with this disease to read this book.

As a high school counselor and child of an alcoholic I found this to be a great resource both personally and professionally. Your candid account of your journey for information and for recovery has already given me insights to help my students and their parents.
Thank you both,

This book was very educational and informative. A MUST READ for anybody struggling with alcoholism or who has a loved one struggling with the disease. Very realistic and honest.

The book is a compilation of short stories about the most influential children that he has worked with over the years, and once I started it I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone (I personally think this would be a great book for expecting parents to read). You will learn so much about the developing brain and about how early childhood trauma can drastically shape the course of the rest of someone's life.

My Professor, Nina Mogar, is a friend of Dr. Bruce Perry. For her class she suggested we buy the book, because she incorporates it into her curriculum. Everything we know about children, will change when reading this book. This book delves into the neurobiology of children, rather than just studying behaviorism. Dr. Bruce Perry's stories from his own experience, helps us understand children. I also suggest that you visit this link: http://www.visualrecord.com/wishspace/education/childvideos375.html There you will find lectures from Nina Mogar, an extraordinary teacher who has fought for children for over 30 years. She is an amazing woman, and she said she will never retire until she gets the message out of helping children. But how do we define helping children? Both Dr. Bruce Perry and Nina Mogar shape that understanding, and know, what some may even say radical, ways to help children. They have challenged common ideas that we believe are okay to use with children such as: time-out, the idea that teaching children earlier is better, testing, teaching a child to share, recess being shortened, etc... things that many elementary schools are using in their teaching environment. This book will help you to help.

This book is a brilliant summary of the essential information for anyone working with children and families. I thank the authors.

Assisted by a talented science writer, child psychiatrist Bruce Perry presents a series of heartbreaking stories of children severely damaged by trauma. But that's only one side of this remarkable book. The other side is how many of these profoundly damaged children were assisted to heal.

Perry explains his "neurosequential" approach that sequentially targets brain regions left undeveloped by abuse or neglect. He presents compelling cases to illustrate how the child's age at the time of the abuse or neglect will determine the gaps in neurological development and how his interventions sequentially target those developmental gaps. For children whose brains were stalled out in infancy, for example, therapy may start with healing touch or rhythm before moving on to higher brain activities.

The focus, always, is on the child's humanity. Perry explains the importance of listening and letting the child set the pace. He warns of the damage caused by well-intentioned but poorly trained therapists who push children to open up, or who administer punitive interventions in the guise of treatment. Healing is not about a specific technique administered in cookbook fashion but, rather, about love, and restoring shattered human connections.

This is an enlightening and heartening book and a real page-turner to boot. The neurological underpinnings of the trauma theory are presented in clear English accessible to anyone who can read. If you're a mental health professional, psychologist, or psychiatrist, you'll love this book. If you're a parent or a teacher, it's also for you. Whoever you are, it's for you. I guarantee you will be engaged and inspired.

The book lives up to its fascinating title. Perry has worked for years with traumatized and neglected children and his take on dealing with them is based on research showing how the brain develops and the impact of neglect and abuse on it. In other words, if a child is abused or neglected in the first year of life (approximately), physical changes take place in the brain or rather, neurological connections that should be made, are not. (This is a vast simplification.) So as a child gets older and begins exhibiting antisocial behaviors that land him or her in special classes or even mental hospitals, it is not because he or she prefers to act this way but because the child's brain is unable to function in a way that enables him or her to become socialized. Perry, having done a great deal of research on this subject himself, spits in the eye of a lot of "accepted" practices when it comes to children's mental health. I'm always interested to read views that oppose the generally accepted norms. My daughter loaned me this book which she is reading as part of her Ph.D. program in pre- and postnatal psychology. It certainly fits right in with her assertion that we need to pay much more attention to what is happening in the first year of life (and before), not only because the child's personality is being formed, but because his brain is as well (and perhaps this is the same thing). The stories in this book are heart wrenching, but Perry does show that there are ways to help or at the very least, understand.

In my opinion this book is an excellent resource for those suffering and those who know someone with diabetes.

My teenage son was diagnosed recently with Type 1 Diabetes, it was very scary not knowing anything about Diabetes. This book is easy to understand and it explains everything about Type 1 diabetes. Wonderful help to me.

Great book for the Type 1 patient or the parent/spouse/family member of one.
Gives good suggestions on a variety of topics. Well worth the money.

I have found this book VERY helpful. From time to time we have questions/concerns that come up, we have found easy to understand answers/advise for real life issues.

This book has helped us so much.
The doctors don't help you too much so you are left with a million questions and this book has helped so much.
This disease is so overwelming and this book is so helpful in easy to understand words.
Instead of going into a panic when something happens we now just go to the book and it calms us right down.
Thank God this book is here.

This book is the most exciting book which I've ever read..It is clearly providing explanations and guiding you very exciting strategies which may perfectly work with someone who has special difficulties in education,general functioning..
I highly recommend this book without any hesitation.
Penny

This is an excellent resource for any parent or teacher who wants to better understand learning challenges. It's organized in such a way that you can easily find things after you've read it. Whether you want to teach to all types or learn how to advocate best for a child, this book is a must read, a must have.

The Eides take a new and refreshing approach to many of the concerns and challenges that impact our children's ability to learn. Informative and well-documented, this book is appropriate for anyone involved with children, including parents, teachers, therapists, and physicians. It is packed with important information backed by the latest research. Yet it is presented in a very readable fashion. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants to find out more about the many and varied ways that children learn, including those with ADD, autism, sensory processing dysfunction, dyslexia, and those who are gifted.

The Mislabeled Child is a revolutionary book that looks beneath the labels children receive, and addresses the real underlying issues. Essential reading for parents, teachers, and health care professionals alike, this highly readable text provides specific, practical approaches to recognizing and capitalizing on children's strengths in order to help them flourish. From sensory processing difficulties to dyslexia, from language problems to poor handwriting skills, the Eides provide useful insights and marvelous advice.

Parents, teachers, and anyone working with children will benefit from the positive approach of helping all children to learn their strengths and use them effectively. The text has ideas to share that may change the life of a child and those who support the child.

As the parent of an adolescent child with Asperger's, I found this book to be just what was needed -- a no nonsense approach to helping our kids with a sense of humor. This is the second book by this author that I have purchased. I will purchase more, I am sure.

This book is one of the best I've seen about the transitional issues that arise when someone with Aspergers reaches their teens. With my son, we find each developmental step has its own challenges, but the movement into middle school, with the increased expectations of self-management and the early teen student issues among peers has been a bigger challenge than most. This book helped me frame these issues as they apply to my son, improving my understanding. Then I could apply many of the ideas provided both directly and through the school. My biggest problem is that this is such a slow read ... not because it is hard to read (to the contrary, its very understandable and straightforward.) Its a "slow go" because of all of the underlining and page marking I am doing to track the "good stuff." Dr Bolick has done those of use living in these situation a major service with this work! I fully recommend it.

More and more books are addressing the problems ASD kids encounter in their latter years . Teresa Bolick has written a well thought out and structured book that answers many of the concerns that parents and teachers have. Would you need another book dealing with this area ? I would say...yes. It is such an important time in these kids lives that a comprehensive knowledge is needed by all those that care for these yound adults.


reviewed by Special Education Teacher and father of ASD child.

I have a son with Aspergers. This book is a great help!

I haven't finished reading this book, but so far what I've read completely fits. My AS teen needs all the help he can get with organization, social skills, etc. This book gives real life examples and excerps from real parents and adolescents with AS. This book is helping me to better understand my child and to help him develop strategies and coping mechanisms so he can have a successful life. Definitely a good addition to my AS library!

This book is excellent. I teach 2nd grade and see the symptoms as described in the book. One of my parents actually took her daughter to the clinic in Indianpolis and worked with her child the prescribed exercises. The different in this student was amazing. Her grades improved, her attention span improved, and her social skills and acceptance by peers improved. I needed to purchase my own copy of this book to become more informed and recommend it to other parents of ADHD children.

Having tried multiple alternative therapies to treat our daughter's adhd/dyslexia/dyspraxia we were suspect that anything would work. Since our daughter did not crawl properly as a baby, this therapy made sense - go back and have her crawl. The results were impressive - almost a year after starting the therapy she is more organized, pleasant, and compliant. She mostly does her homework independently. She is on target for her grade although her writing and spelling are still weak, they are improving. Her coordination is outstanding now. She used to trip over everything and fall 1X/week on the playground. Now she never falls. School is so much easier for her than it used to be. She is able to stay seated and her writing is less labored. Combining this therapy with the Feingold diet (she still had residual anger issues, plus lots of allergies which led us to believe Feingold might help her), we have a child who is almost neurotypical in every way. This is not a quick fix and takes much dedication, but the results we feel are worth it.

Dr. Miriam Bender should be applauded for her tireless research in revealing a misunderstood subject/label "ADHD". I have completely read this book and have started using the exercises with my child with positive results so far. The author, Nancy E. O'Dell organizes and addresses the subject very clearly so any layman can completely understand. If you have a child with hyper activity and are sincerely looking to rid your child of medication, it is in my opinion that you should study this book.
I am very pleased with the concept out lined in the book as it gives real solutions to a frustrating behavior condition that many children/adults experience in their daily lives.
Curt de la Cruz
www.selfhelp-motivation.com

The exercises in this book have definitely changed my life. I can remember better, focus better, and organize better. Although this book is geared toward helping children, I am over 40, and these exercises worked for me. I was diagnosed with ADD just a few years ago. This book is well-written, well organized, and very genuine in voice. I fully recommend this book to anyone who shows signs of this STNR reflex still bothering them. I believe this is a breakthrough in ADD and ADHD treatment.

After many therapies, medications, and exercises, we have finally found the underlying cause of our son's ADHD. This book clearly explains what some children miss in their early development. Then it shows you detailed exercises that can cure the problem, not just treat the symptoms! Although the exercises require a commitment, we saw results after only one week! At the end of the 8 month program, we had a "normal" child who was able to focus, sit still, and function completely typical for his age without medication! WONDERFUL!

As a middle school English teacher, I deal with young people and their struggles to understand themselves and focus their lives daily. What Do you Really Want? is the perfect resource to help teens do just that! Presented in an easy-to-read and manageable format with a positive, upbeat tone, the book makes the lofty and overwhelming task of "getting what you want" a simple, sytematic process that untimately leads to personal satisfaction, self-esteem, and, of course, happiness. I plan on using the book and its many wonderful activities, quotations, empirical examples, inspirational quotes, and self-reflection techniques in my classroom on a regular basis. This book is an outstanding resource for any teen, but as I read the book, I couldn't help but think that Ms. Bachel may have marketed the book incorrectly. It's down-to-earth tone and empowering message is as relevant to adults as it is to kids! I wish that I would have discovered it sooner to help me in my daily life. I have recommended (and will continue to recommend) the book to friends and students alike!

Bev Bachel's friendly book helps teens -- even adults -- understand what it takes to get what you want from life. She shows how to decide what you want, determine what steps you can take to achieve it, and cheerleads you along the way. A must for any teen -- or anyone -- who wants to be more successful but has doubts about their ability to achieve.

I find this book to be a practical, no-frills guide on Goal Getting for teens. There are only 100 odd pages. Paragraphs are inter-laced with inspiring quotations as well as personal anecdotes.

The author goes straight into the jugular. No fancy theories...Just what you need to get started. There are also nineteen useful, reproducible forms for goal getting. 'Think It & Ink It' journaling exercises are also included to help you think more deeply about what you want & how to get it.

At the back of the book are some goal-getting resources.

This wonderful book comes from Free Spirit Publishing. Please check out their website if you are seeking useful resources for teens & kids. Parents, please take note.

As a father of three teenage girls, I'm always looking for ways to help them reach their full potential. What Do You Really Want has really given focus to my daughters' everyday lives. Like so many teens, my girls have great hopes and dreams but aren't sure how to make sense of them. The book's fun worksheets and journal exercises helps teens decide what's truly important to them and takes them step by step through the goal-setting process to help them achieve those goals. What's more, it's a book they can carry with them for the rest of their lives and continually turn back to for guidance. I recommend this book to any parent or teacher looking to bring direction to teens they care about - or even themselves. I was surprised at how much I've incorporated what I learned about goal setting in my own life!

In What Do You Really Want?: A Guide For Teens, motivational and communication expert Beverly Bachel, shows adolescent and young adult readers how to set a goal for themselves and effectively pursue whatever they have targeted! A down-to-earth, "user friendly" self-help guide which is written in simple, direct language, What Do You Really Want? is as practical and effective, as it is informative and inspiring. Enhanced with self-tests, resources, and exercises, What Do You Really Want? is a superbly presented and highly recommended introduction to focusing one's life and contains numerous lessons for that could profit readers of all ages!

When to Worry: How to Tell If Your Teen Needs Help-And What to Do About It

Lisa Boesky, Ph.D. ("Dr. Lisa") is a Child Psychologist and nationally recognized authority on troubled teens. She is the author of the new book When to Worry: How to Tell if Your Teen Needs Help--and What to Do About It.

Dr. Lisa's excellent reputation and popularity as a speaker, author and media guest result from her passion, warmth, humor and unique ability to make complex information interesting and easy-to-understand.
Very Very Very useful information! Thanks Dr. Lisab!

It's a great read, excellent info, well done! What I really must compliment
you on is giving enough information to parents that it provides utility but
not too much in-depth info where you might "lose" a parent. I think that
type of writing is even good for professionals working in the field because
we sometimes make the simple way too complicated. I just mean that your
book will be a great tool for parents and professionals alike. I will
surely recommend it to others.

While currently experiencing all the facets of development with my 14 yr. old son including self-inquiry, biology, personality, teen hormones, and environment, I found there to be lots of "psycho-babble" in most books.I also found that as a parent, I too needed a "life-coach", a source to provide clear concrete paths to choose from. One's that fit. One's that helped guide this very personal and individualized process. I FINALLY found this in Dr. Lisa's book. She gave us "years" of time and research, which afforded us the TIME we needed to give to our son. This is large. And essential. A road map, with good directions. A brilliant combination.
Finlee Stevenson
Nia Dance Teacher
Mother of two teenage boys
Chairperson of National Red Ribbon Week... Annual drug prevention and awareness campaign across the country.

I teach in a juvenile justice center school and work with kids who have developed problems that many of them will not outgrow and should have been addressed much sooner.

This book is just what parents need when it come to sorting out whether behaviors are normal teen development or something to be truly concerned about. I have many parents come to me trying to tease apart behaviors to figure out if their child is troubled or just moody, heading for danger or just experimenting within an expected range. This book, while not simplistic, is surprisingly easy to understand. I appreciated that it puts things in perspective in a very clear way. Having raised 2 teens myself, I believe that every parent can use this book as they face those tumultous years. This book goes right to the top of the book list I recommend for parents of teens. Once again, Dr. Boesky, gets to the chase and offers realistic help instead of just theory.

Drugs, sex and rock'n roll. That sums up your teenage years in four words. Okay, maybe five.

Seriously, my children haven't even reached the tween years, and I'm already thinking about what it will be like when their round angelic faces cast a more angular, petulant look the moment they turn thirteen. What am I going to do when my daughter really rolls her eyes at me. I mean really rolls them?

That's when I'll turn to the already dog-eared pages of Dr. Lisa Boesky's When to Worry: How to Tell If Your Teen Needs Help -- and What to Do About It.

This new release, issued by the American Management Association, outlines in great detail the psychoses and syndromes that might befall your teen. Without a gloom and doom tone, Dr. Lisa shares her most knowledgeable ideas about when to worry that your teens' behavior is not normal.

Does your child complain she's too fat, then happily giggle over a sundae with friends? Don't worry.

Does your child complain she's too fat, then go on a hunger strike for three months? Worry.

Does your child seem outgoing, but there are bloody tissues under her bed from cutting her arms with a razor? Worry.

Does your child suffer from an occasional bloody nose in the winter? Don't worry.

The book's fifteen chapters provide helpful descriptions, case studies and answers to the most pressing problems parents of teens face. When does my child's strange behavior need to be addressed and when is it alright to chalk it up to his growing brain and body? Dr. Lisa's insights bring to light the many astounding neuroses some teens suffer: obsessive-compulsive disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder; schizophrenia; anorexia; bulimia; and more.

I highly recommend this book for all parents who are worried -- that would be most of us!

Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff and Sahm I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe, lives near Munich, Germany, with her husband and two children.

This is an extraordinary tool to help us to care about our children in everyday's life and happenings. It's great to know what can cause them any harm of trauma and how to prevent it or help them to heal it. It can help you also to understand your own fears and deal with them. Don't miss it!!!

This is a excelent and interesting book. I've gained a lot of good ideas for both my children and myself. It is a little long winded but I suppose healing trauma is a process not for those(often like myself)seeking instant gratification.

As an educator this book was extremely valuable in many ways. One of these ways was that it gave me insight into a child's brain that has experienced trauma. This book also taught me how to recognize the signs of a child experiencing trauma and how to assist ALL my students to move past and become unstuck from everyday to severe traumas. This book should be a must for anyone teaching children. If I had one wish I would wish the school system would tone down performance based learning and get the core of why a child thinks and acts the way they do. This book is invaluable.

This is a fabulous book with excellent insight into the impact of trauma on the body. The authors offer a succint and easy read filled with information describing the dynamics of fight, flight or freeze that accompany every trauma. I gained not only helpful insight for working with children but insight into my own "freezes". Wonderfully helpful and a must-read for any parent or all adults working with children.

This is the best book in my library! I keep it next to me and reference it frequently. I have given 5 of them to family and friends with children. It is a bible for dealing with children who have been affected by trauma. Truly comprehensive, it provides a sensible protocol for understanding and healing trauma. Pre and peri natal issues are addressed as well. A must have for parents. Peter Levine and Maggie Kline have created a book for the ages.