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Chris A Zeigler Dendy, Alex Ziegler
This third edition of Bird’s-Eye View provides a ten-year update on 11 teens that were featured in the original book. Today, their careers range from teacher, to a chef, bandleader, music major, artist, army reservist, assistant to a hospital ICU director, and college students. These young people offer the best kind of advice—advice based upon first-hand experience. But best of all, teens and their families are left with a sense of hope that they too will survive this sometimes, overwhelming disorder.
A Bird's-Eye View was written expressly for teenagers, preteens, and young adults by teenagers and a young adult who are struggling with ADD or ADHD. This survival guide for teens, preteens, and young adults offers factual information and practical advice in words and examples that young people can easily understand and put into practice. Written with humour and compassion, A Bird's Eye View offers down-to-earth tips for coping with a variety of issues: disorganisation, forgetfulness, always being late, sleep problems, memorisation, procrastination, restlessness, medication, writing essays, and algebra. Filled with pictures, cartoons, and entertaining ADHD stories, this book is meant to be helpful yet still be interesting to read. The bottom line goal for this book is to provide teens and parents with educational information, strategies for coping, plus a sense of hope that they too will survive this sometimes overwhelming disorder. According to former Surgeon General Everett Koop, M.D., "No prescription can ever be as effective as education." A Bird's-Eye View provides the perfect first step in this educational process.
Leading researchers in the field of ADHD have emphasised the fact that education about ADHD is a critical element of a treatment plan. In fact, Dr. Russell Barkley has reported that ADD/ADHD education is often more effective than counselling. Dr. Peter Jensen explains that ADHD education is one of the most critical things we must provide for families and teenagers.
Alex Zeigler, the coauthor and Chris Dendy's youngest son, is an ADD survivor. He tells about his terrible high school years and shares personal tips that enabled him to persevere and graduate from college in spite of his struggles. Chris Dendy, the "scribe" who recorded the words of wisdom from these young people, is a professional with 40 years experience as a teacher, school psychologist, and mental health counsellor and administrator.
Alex and Chris worked for three years to write a book expressly for teenagers that will help educate them about their ADD or ADHD. We review the strategies that we utilised while addressing our own personal challenges with attention deficit disorder. In the process we interviewed twelve teens from across the country and sought their advice for dealing with many of the common challenges that accompany attention deficit disorder.
Alex did graduate from college after years of struggling with the challenges of his attention disorder plus hidden executive function deficits. He has a major in criminal justice/forensics and a minor in computer science. His computer skills were essential in the publication of this book. Because our artist and layout designer became gravely ill while we were in the midst of producing the book, Alex took over his responsibilities. He designed the book cover and did the layout for the book using In Design and Photoshop software. He also created the artwork for the Iceberg and diagrams of the neurotransmitters plus did the shading of the cartoons.
Introduction
ADD and ADHD According to Alex
Meet the Real Experts on ADD and ADHD
...Ten Years Later
The Common Challenges of ADD and ADHD
Coping with ADD or ADHD
Closing on a Note of Hope!
More Helpful Information for You and Your Parents
"It's terriffic...Without exception, this edition remains the best book I have reviewed to date for teens with ADHD and their parents. It is clear, concise, engaging, witty, entertaining, and at times appropriately irreverent yet more importantly it is founded on the science of ADHD not just anecdotes. ...it is packed full of factually based information on ADHD derived from the voluminous scientific literature that is skillfully woven throughout the more personalized information and serves to demystify and de-pathologize the disorder. Congratulations to Chris and Alex for collaborating to produce this unique, insightful, and highly useful guide to ADHD in adolescents."
- Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D., professor Medical University of South Carolina; author, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment and numerous other ADHD books.
"From the Foreward by Dr Tom Brown:
…. One of the major strengths of A Bird’s-Eye View is that it shows the many differences among those with ADHD—differences in what they struggle with, in how they cope, and differences also in their impressive strengths and talents.
This new 10th anniversary edition of A Bird’s Eye View adds not just more practical tips, but also a new, very important perspective, a view over time! Readers of this edition see updates on how these 11 “survivors” have grown, what they’re doing now, and how much they have accomplished.
In these pages Alex and his mother have provided a basis for hope, as well as a very practical and helpful reminder of how these 11, and all the rest of us, continue to be “a work in progress."
- Thomas E. Brown, Ph.D., Associate Director, Yale Clinic for Attention and Related Disorders, Yale University School of Medicine.
"I really love this book! It is an essential tool for any pre-teen or teen who is living with AD/HD."
- Perry W. Green, age 17
