Myomancy ADHD, Dyslexia and Autism

What Does Everybody Else Know That I Don’t?: Social Skills Help for Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Michele Novotni

$10.26 via Amazon

People who have brought this book wrote:

I am diagnosed Asperger's/HFA, and I found the book to be useful in some ways, although it did not address issues caused by sensory integration dysfunction, which can also be found in many people with ADHD (not to mention DSI being misdiagnosed as ADHD). From the viewpoint of many people with ADHD, the information in this book is too basic. From the viewpoint of someone further onto the autism spectrum, the information is not basic enough.

The author assumes that the person with ADHD or other diagnosis who is reading the book can see the body language, and can interpret it if s/he pays attention to it. This is not necessarily the case - I did not start to notice body language or facial expression until I was over thirty, and just because I can now see it does not mean that I can read it - I'm missing over thirty years of ingrained knowledge that most other people have been gathering since they were a couple months old, or earlier (depending up the theorist you wish to believe).

If you have a child on the autism spectrum, the books on Relationship Development Intervention by Guttstein and Sheely may be more useful. A warning, though: RDI significantly changes the personality of the person who goes through it. In a young child, this may not be noticeable or unwanted, but in an older child or adult, you may wish to ask their permission before putting them through this very thorough and intrusive therapy. As an adult, I am uncomfortable with the changes I saw produced in people who have gone through it, and would not consider it myself.

It may be a very useful resource book for the parents of children with ADHD, or a child who is on the autism spectrum who has gone through RDI and thus has some of the basic knowledge to make this book more useful.

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