My Wandering Dreaming Mind

by Merriam Sarcia Saunders, Tammie Lyon (Illustrator)

Overview

"Children who get distracted easily will relate to Sadie and will realize they can focus on their positive qualities." —Oregon Coast Youth Book Preview Center

Sadie feels like her thoughts are soaring into the clouds and she can’t bring them back down to earth. She has trouble paying attention, which makes keeping track of schoolwork, friends, chores, and everything else really tough. Sometimes she can only focus on her mistakes.

When Sadie talks to her parents about her wandering, dreaming mind, they offer a clever plan to help remind Sadie how amazing she is.

Includes a Note to Parents and Caregivers with more information on ADHD, self-esteem, and helping children focus on the positives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433831836
Publisher:	Magination Press, American Psychological Association
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 10.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	8 - 9 Years

About the Author

Merriam Sarcia Saunders, LMFT, is a licensed family therapist and child custody mediator specializing in helping neurodivergent families and children, specifically with ADHD, autism, anxiety, and learning disorders.

Tammie Lyon is best known for illustrating the Katie Woo series. She also illustrated the Makers Make It Work book, Double or Nothing. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and dogs.

Editorial Reviews

Children who get distracted easily will relate to Sadie and will realize they can focus on their positive qualities.

Oregon Coast Youth Book Preview Center

2020-02-09
Saunders and Lyon, who previously focused on hyperactivity common to boys with ADHD in My Whirling Twirling Motor (2019), now turn to a female protagonist.

Sadie has a mind that loves to wander and dream, from ponies and monkeys to the depths of the sea. She wishes she could keep it pinned down, especially when her rich fantasy world causes trouble at home and at school. Like many young people with attention and executive-function deficits, Sadie is plagued by low self-esteem as a result of her symptoms. Fortunately, her parents help her to see how her struggles can sometimes be great gifts. For instance, she daydreams because she is imaginative and gets easily distracted because she is curious. Though this reframing does not make her issues magically disappear, the positive scaffold provides a hopeful launch pad for progress. A note to parents and caregivers at the end of the story includes information on executive-function issues, especially how ADHD often manifests in girls, along with information on how to individualize an approach to positive psychology for ADHD brains. This fills a needed bibliotherapy niche for families, therapists, and school counselors. Sadie and her family are white, and her classmates are fairly diverse.

A positive spin for all those who struggle with executive function and those who love them. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews