The Elephant in the ADHD Room: Beating Boredom as the Secret to Managing ADHD - Softcover

Sweitzer coaches adults and young people with ADHD and has also worked with children with hearing, speech and language, and learning disabilities. In this book she introduces strategies for professionals working in a range of settings. She focuses on a practical and common sense approach to helping students find ways to discover how they can take responsibility for cultivating interests and becoming more aware of using their imagination... This book will be of interest to those coaching ADHD students or those responsible for supporting staff working with them. -- Mary Mountstephen, author, editor * SEN Magazine * The Elephant in the ADHD Room is fascinating and gripped me within the first two pages. It is a short practical guide to a world to which we can all related. The first part examines the term boredom and being bored in relation to ADHD and the findings are astonishing... The book's second part breaks down the concept of boredom into age ranges and is easy to read... It explores how some minds work and why an unfinished project may not be due to "laziness" but a search for further thrills and excitement. It also explores the connection between criminal activity and ADHD. i thing this author's approach is an excellent starting point for parents and professionals. It gives practical guidance and tips to relive or support boredom and thrill seeking. -- Side by Side This well written book by Letitia Sweitzer exposes the fault lines in the debate over ADHD - how to identify and how to treat it. Sweitzer takes on the "elephant in the room" and suggests a common sense approach - address the boredom so often associated with ADHD. Boredom is not the only factor in ADHD, but it is a significant one... Teaching a child to deal with boredom in a positive manner is a good start. Teachers can also help students by identifying and encouraging their interests and strengths. On the subject of accommodations for those with ADHD, her suggestions are moderate and reasonable. All in all, a practical guide with many useful examples for dealing with the most common symptom of this increasingly diagnosed condition. -- Neely Young, Ph.D., retired teacher and headmaster The Elephant in the ADHD Room is eye-opening and engrossing for anyone in contact with ADHD-diagnosed people from childhood to maturity: I kept thinking "That's my student" and "Oh, I didn't handle that well". Broad practical experience, knowledge of literature, and an engaging style make Sweitzer the perfect author to present this study to parents, teachers, and friends. Identifying one's "Top 10 Joys" is a task that should help everyone, not only the ADHD community, negotiate and balance life. Reminding the reader to avoid labels and to focus on individual triggers for fighting boredom is a reminder we all need. -- Helen Smith, Upper School History Teacher, Pace Academy, Atlanta and recipient of several teaching awards including American Councils for International Education Excellence in Teaching Award

Boredom and boredom avoidance drive the behaviours of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity - the diagnostic criteria of ADHD. This is the first ADHD resource to thoroughly explore the connection between the two. Full of innovative approaches, the book introduces a wide range of strategies for professionals working in clinical, educational and therapeutic settings to help those with ADHD beat boredom and engage with tasks and goals they want or need to achieve. Approaches specifically designed for toddlers, children, teenagers and adults are included, which can then be incorporated into schoolwork, jobs, relationships and everyday life. This practical resource will provide professionals who diagnose, treat, coach, and teach those with ADHD or those who suffer from frequent or pervasive boredom, with the tools to alleviate boredom in order to improve both concentration and mood.