"If you're interested in helping kids with ADHD battle some of their biggest hurdles—planning, organization, and time management—this book is a 'must read.' This humane, evidence-based, structured yet flexible program is the best argument yet against the claim that there's no validated way to intervene directly with children with ADHD. The book sets a new standard for the field. It enables the clinician to provide essential help for children and families desperately in need of sound treatment."—Stephen P. Hinshaw, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley "It's here! Practitioners who work with children with ADHD have been eagerly awaiting the publication of this treatment manual by leading clinician-researchers. Demonstrated effective in rigorous research, this intervention is the first to comprehensively address the organizational difficulties that are common and impairing among children with ADHD. Well written, detailed, and thorough, this is a uniquely valuable contribution to the treatment literature."—Mary V. Solanto, PhD, Department of Pediatrics and Department of Psychiatry, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell "This book provides a complete manual for a new nonpharmacological intervention that guides parents and teachers to work together. Unlike almost every other method for addressing organizational problems in ADHD, this one has been tested in a strong study and the results have passed rigorous peer review. This approach is a gift to children with ADHD and their families from some of the world's top experts."—Benjamin B. Lahey, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago "A timely, important resource. This complete manual includes detailed session scripts and activities, dozens of helpful handouts and checklists that also can be accessed online, and clear guidelines for troubleshooting inevitable treatment challenges. Gallagher, Abikoff, and Spira are to be especially commended for their focus on giving children with ADHD the ongoing support needed to use newly acquired skills on their own."—George J. DuPaul, PhD, Department of Education and Human Services, Lehigh University "This wonderfully practical book focuses on the everyday organizational challenges that kids with ADHD face at home and in school. The authors provide step-by-step guidance for implementing a skills-training program that has been proven to make a real difference for children and families. This approach represents an important advance in the development of targeted interventions to help address key areas of functional impairment in ADHD."—Edmund Sonuga-Barke, PhD, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, United Kingdom "Commonly used ADHD treatments such as medication and parent management training have only a minimal impact on children's organizational skills. Based on a decade of high-quality research, this is the first evidence-based guide for treating organizational skills deficits in this population. Professionals learn how to implement the intervention in collaboration with children, parents, and teachers. Application of this approach will surely improve the lives of children with ADHD."—Jeffrey M. Halperin, PhD, Department of Psychology, Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Reviewer: Christopher J Graver, PhD, ABPP-CN(Madigan Healthcare System)
Description: Although medications are clearly a superior choice in the treatment of ADHD, there is ample room for concomitant skills training. This book provides information on training key skills.
Purpose: The aim is to provide practical organizational skills that are often missing or deficient in individuals with ADHD.
Audience: This workbook is intended for clinicians and their patients with ADHD who are working on behavioral management techniques. The authors are well researched in ADHD and this book is essentially a compilation of their research protocol that studied the effectiveness of an organizational training program.
Features: The workbook is organized into 20 sessions with instructions for the clinician in each session. There are clinician forms to complete with the patient, as well as parent and child handouts to practice the skills taught in session. There also are teacher forms to supplement the work being done at home. There is an introduction to this treatment approach followed by session-specific guidelines. Each of these specific sessions provides an overview of the purposes, specific details about the things to be accomplished, and step-by-step instructions for the clinician to work through with the patient. Helpful hints appear in shaded boxes and it is very clear which sections are for the clinician versus the patient. The handouts and forms needed for each session are listed in the beginning so that the clinician can get them ready ahead of time, and the end of each chapter talks about how to wrap up the session and present activities for completion at home.
Assessment: Overall, this is a very detailed and straightforward approach to organizational skills training that provides everything needed to complete a successful 20-week treatment program. This is one of the most useful and practical guides to ADHD skills training available. Readers will need to independently critique the merits of the program based on the available literature.
