A Review of More Attention, Less Deficit Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD by Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA
The author kindly forwarded this book to me for review in April 2009. As of today I still haven’t finished it. I usually don’t have the attention span to sit and read a book for long periods of time, but I typically can finish one in less than six months, especially if I am reviewing it.
I was fortunate enough to meet Ari Tuckman recently at the annual CHADD conference. I participated in two of his breakout sessions (both of which were excellent) and after the first one introduced myself as the individual from NSGCD who still hadn’t finished reviewing his book. It was a little embarrassing to explain to him that I hadn’t yet finished reading it, but he seemed accepting of the reason why and that is why I am finally able to write this review.
Now that you’re thoroughly confused, allow me to let you in on the fact that I’m the type of person this book is written for: those either diagnosed with ADHD or struggling with a significant number of ADHD tendencies.
While this book has excellent ADHD information on a multitude of topics, what I like most about it is its design. Like most non-fiction books it’s divided into sections and chapters, but More Attention, Less Deficit takes this division further by breaking the 17 chapters into 189 articles, ranging from a couple of paragraphs to a couple of pages in length. Dr. Tuckman then demonstrates his understanding of the ADHD reader by giving a brief four or five-line description of each article at the beginning of each chapter AND by perforating the bottom corner of each page so that you can tear it off once you read it. I thought I would have a very hard time tearing a book, but once I started, I realized that tearing the corners off gave me a sense of accomplishment. A quick peek at the bottom corner of my book demonstrates that I’ve read probably 75% of the pages. I’ll end up reading all of the pages eventually, but I’m reading the articles in order of interest to my life at this point – on my terms. The author genuinely understands the way an ADHD adult reads, sometimes from the middle, sometimes from front to back, but rarely straight through. It is a gift to be encouraged to read a book however one wishes.
For those who are auditory learners, Dr. Tuckman has created a podcast version of the book available at the website www.adultadhdbook.com.
This book is full of useful and normalizing information for the adult with ADHD, as well as information to help friends and family better understand them. As mentioned, the book is divided into four sections, (Understanding ADHD in Adults, Start With Effective Treatment, Build the Necessary Skills, and Improve Specific Areas of Your Life) and 17 chapters. As a Professional Organizer and Organizer Coach, moving into the field of ADHD coaching, I especially appreciated Chapter Six “Nonmedical Treatment Providers: Pills Don’t Teach Skills,” where the author has compiled 16 articles dealing with therapy, coaching, support groups and working with Professional Organizers.
More Attention, Less Deficit it is one of the best books I have come across that addresses living with adult ADHD and I won’t be placing this book on a shelf any time soon. Since April, it has become more of a companion than a book, accompanying me on vacations, to various conferences and on client visits. I find myself turning to it again and again for the well-written articles and pragmatic advice. Today, I read a couple of the articles on memory management. After reading those, I felt no incompletion guilt when I set the book aside, because even though I didn’t complete a chapter, I did achieve a level of what my ADHD coach calls “completion chemistry,” which is unfortunately missing from the lives of so many with ADHD. Thank you, Dr. Tuckman, for writing such a wonderful book specifically for ADHD adults and those who care about them.