A knowledgeable if curiously brief account of ADHD and its mitigation.
Meyers, a physician, offers a brief treatise on the nature and treatment of ADHD.
The author begins his look at attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder by attempting to dispel several persistent myths that surround subject: “The symptom of poor concentration is usually explained as attention deficit disorder, or ADHD. However, a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings ensure that those affected do not always receive an accurate diagnosis and also an optimal therapy.” He flatly contradicts what he sees as canards, including, “if you can’t concentrate, you have ADHD,” “ADHD grows out all by itself,” and, most pertinently, “ADHD is not curable.” Meyers intends for his book to provide clarity and support for readers in more accurately assessing what is and isn’t ADHD as well as advice on how to treat the genuine disorder. “After thirty years of psychiatric work with children, adolescents, and adults, I know: If it really is ADHD and the highest standards of diagnosis and therapy are applied, this disease is curable,” he decisively declares. “Lifelong medication or therapeutic treatment is then no longer necessary.” The author lays out the different subtypes of ADHD, noting that many distractible children are mistakenly diagnosed with the condition, while many adults have no idea that they’re dealing with it in their daily lives. The specific details of these subtypes are illustrated by case studies of the author’s own patients that give personal context to what might otherwise be only lists of symptoms.
Meyers expertly interweaves the human dimensions of the disorder with a vast amount of scientific and clinical information—a surprisingly generous amount given the brevity of the book. Each section contains extensive links and citations for further reading. These attempts to increase the usefulness of the book are, to a certain extent, counteracted by a diagnostic in-the-weeds specificity that may leave even readers familiar with ADHD at a loss (and will certainly make this book opaque to general readers). Much of the discussion in the book’s early pages revolves around “OPATUS-CPT,” which the author refers to as “a proven tool for objective ADHD diagnosis” but neither defines nor explains in detail (it’s a diagnostic app). The text is clear and concise on the possible contributing factors to developing ADHD and the differences between some of its manifestations, and doubtless many readers will find these elements useful. But Meyers is frequently overly concise, almost terse, when discussing elements of his subject that call for more expansive discussions: “We speak of pathologically persistent early childhood reflexes if their activity is still above 25 percent even after four and a half years of life. This is caused by deficits in brain development as a result of life-threatening events shortly before, during or shortly after birth.” This is a fascinating subject, but two pages and two case studies later, the author moves on to something else. Part of this headlong pace is a byproduct of the book’s short length (an impression enhanced by how much of each chapter is bullet-pointed), but it cumulatively produces a hurried impression and will leave many readers wishing for a more comprehensive future edition.
Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2022
ISBN: 9798404994049
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Independently Published
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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IN THE NEWS
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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