Attention Deficits and Hyperactivity in Children and Adults, 2nd edition, revised and expanded

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has certainly been the “diagnosis of the decade.” Very young children and preschoolers, as well as school-age children and adults, receive the diagnosis today in record numbers. This occurs even though enormous concern remains about the lack of standard assessment and management procedures and about misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment protocols. ADHD has received a great deal of attention in the lay press and in the professional press; still, I for one am grateful to the editors of this book for their decision to add an important and unique volume to the overcrowded field of ADHD literature. Its predecessor, Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity in Children: Early Diagnosis and Intervention, was published nearly a decade ago. Its goal was to provide an interdisciplinary and medically focused text devoted to the field of ADHD. The new edition has the same focus, but it is both more comprehensive and more detailed than its predecessor. At the same time, it is more accessible to laypersons and also more of an aid to clinicians who need to communicate the complexities of ADHD to adults who may be concerned primarily about themselves, their children, or both.

The volume begins with a historical introduction to ADHD and a discussion of the physiological substrate. Next is a detailed discussion of clinical diagnosis. This includes an overview focused on neurodevelopmental and psychoeducational assessment of children suspected of having ADHD; methods of measuring attention deficits with and without hyperactivity; gender issues and ADHD; and adaptive function in children with ADHD. A discussion of comorbidity and ADHD in clinical diagnosis includes a look at developmental learning and language disorders, developmental coordination disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, and mood symptoms in children with ADHD. Finally, the discussion of clinical diagnosis focuses on associated deficit conditions that mimic ADHD and alternative etiologies; these include plumbism, alcohol exposure in utero, fragile X syndrome, Tourette's syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder spectrum, thyroid dysfunction, and hearing loss. The section devoted to therapy for individuals with ADHD discusses strategies for living with a child with the disorder and for managing that child in school, pharmacologic management, social skill enhancement in children with ADHD, adjunctive therapies, and multidisciplinary approaches. The final section of the volume discusses a number of important other issues, such as benefits of early identification and treatment, legal issues, and adult outcomes for individuals with ADHD.

In all, this very impressive work provides coverage of the newest and most exciting basic science information about underlying diagnosis, therapy and biological substrates, outcomes, and many other fascinating and challenging issues (including legal issues) vis-à-vis ADHD. Moreover, a section at the end of each chapter, called “Points for Parents,” provides a summary of the contents of each chapter in language that is entirely intelligible to nonprofessionals. This book should be invaluable not only to professionals concerned about ADHD, but also to countless other adults who both need and seek an up-to-date overview of this exciting and complex topic.

Dr. Novick is director of the Center of Attention and Learning Disorders, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY.