The Family ADHD Solution

by Mark Bertin

In this accessible guide, developmental pediatrician Mark Bertin demystifies ADHD and offers advice to overwhelmed parents that includes clear explanations causes of ADHD, and the ins and outs of a thorough evaluation Common symptoms, showing how they extend far beyond inattention and hyperactivity Behavioral, educational and medical approaches that increase academic and social success Research proven mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques for parents that benefit the whole familyAdvice to help your child build self-esteem along with healthy relationships with peers and with you

Genres: Parenting, Adhd, Self Help, Health, Nonfiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2011

About the author

Dr. Bertin is a developmental pediatrician and author of How Children Thrive, Mindful Parenting for ADHD and The Family ADHD Solution, which integrate mindfulness into the rest of evidence-based pediatric care. He is a contributing author for the book Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Kids and Teens. Dr. Bertin is on faculty at New York Medical College and the Windward Teacher Training Institute, and on the advisory boards for the non-profits Common Sense Media and Reach Out and Read. He is a regular contributor to Mindful Magazine, and his blog is available through Mindful.org and Psychology Today. For more information, please visit his website at www.developmentaldoctor.com.

Reviews

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been 4 stars if the whole first third of the book hadn't gone on and on about mindfulness repeatedly. Don't get me wrong, I agree with the concept of mindfulness in helping you deal with life on a daily basis, and difficult situations specifically. The "Listen. Breathe. Respond." model is something I struggle with, and I appreciate the reminder of how to control myself before I start trying to help my child and husband with ADHD with some of their struggles. However, what took a full third of the book to say could have been said in much fewer pages.

Having said that, the rest of the book was an absolute gem. Some of the stuff I had heard before, but there were a wealth of very practical and useful tips for me as a parent of a child with ADHD. While this was mostly focused on dealing with a child with ADHD, there were also some tips that I could use with my ADHD husband too, and some he might find useful when attempting to improve focus in certain areas. The book covers how to work with your ADHD child at home in routine and focus, and also how to cooperate with his/her school to help things go smoothly there.

I highly recommend the latter 2/3 of the book to anyone with a child with ADHD.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some very good summaries and explanations of what ADHD is/does in a child’s developing mind. Even as someone familiar with the diagnosis, it was a good refresher.
I did not agree with all of the advice about behavioral management; in particular, the use of reward/punishment systems, which we have actually found do not scaffold any kind of meaningful intrinsic motivation in our kid and involve greater parental labor and organization for no real result except increased points of conflict; additionally, the suggestions about starting a meditation practice sound like they’re written by someone who has someone else taking care of his kids and household - I don’t know anyone who has 45+ minutes PER DAY to commit to breath work. Which is what this book suggested.
All in all, this book has some good introductory advice for what ADHD is, but falls short in 1. Concrete and specific instructions on scaffolding as a supportive strategy for the child and 2. linking it with mindfulness, both as to how it benefits the parent and how a child with ADHD might learn mindfulness. (Isn’t this called the family adhd solution?). It’s not a particularly long book, so maybe being more specific was just not in the scope of this project. Maybe the author’s workbook based on this book will have some more concrete strategies.

[Chain Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

The majority of the pages in this book are devoted to teaching parents mindfulness skills, including meditation, and explaining how this can make the task of parenting a child with ADHD more peaceful and effective. While this is undoubtedly true, it's weird that the title doesn't reflect that and it wasn't exactly what I picked up the book for. The meditation sections were well explained, but I already knew the material and did not need to go over it again. What I found most helpful about the book was actually some of the shorter sections - perhaps because it's not the main focus and therefore the auhtor felt free to summarize rather than getting into the weeds. Bertin has done an excellent job of reviewing the traits of ADHD and the evidence on what kind of parenting and medication approaches can help. This is discussed in just the right amount of detail for professionals to recommend this book to parents, and addresses possible concerns without patronizing.

[Green Iona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. I'm going to buy it as a personal resource for myself and my clients. I would have given it five starts but the author didn't go very far in giving us too much information about ADHD. I really like the way he writes about ADHD children and their behavior. It gives us an inspiring perspective. I supposed it's the same old information as elsewhere but said in a bit of a different way. He does talk a lot about mindfulness which I can see in some other reviews is a complaint, and understandably. He doesn't mention it all in the title. It's like he started writing a book and couldn't pinpoint where he was coming from. That being said, his information on mindfulness is well put and uses science to back it up which is especially important for a clinician. He also applies mindfulness to parenting in one of the better ways I've seen so far...and I've read a few books about the subject.

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

55:2025
I've read a lot of books about ADHD, executive function, and mindfulness. This is not a favorite. Minimal actual strategies. Lots of repetition. Very little I have not previously learned. If you are a parent of a young child exhibiting ADHD tendencies, and you have ZERO reading up on it, this book might be a good starting place for you. Otherwise, skip it. There are other better resources.

[Luke Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good foundational advice albeit with a slightly repetitive style

[Lenore Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Family ADHD Solution: Help Book

In this accessible guide, developmental pediatrician Mark Bertin demystifies ADHD and offers advice to overwhelmed parents that includes clear explanations of:
* Biological causes of ADHD, and the ins and outs of a thorough evaluation
* Common symptoms, showing how they extend far beyond inattention and hyperactivity
* Behavioral, educational and medical approaches that increase academic and social success
* Research proven mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques for parents that benefit the whole family
* Advice to help your child build self-esteem along with healthy relationships with peers and with you

This is a book that would have so helped me when I was helping raise the boys with my friend years ago. It was so hard to understand why one moment Bubba would be going 90 to nothing and the next asleep in a corner of the couch. And also how we could help him reduce the stress of the moods that took him so quickly. If your dealing with this at home you may find some aids right here.

[whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up quite liking this book, though it's a bit of a hodge-podge and can be somewhat repetitive. I like the connection he's making with Mindfulness Meditation/Attention Training and ADHD, both for the parents of the child with ADHD and the child, too. It did feel, in the first half of the book, as though Bertin was writing a book about Mindfulness Meditation and then occasionally remembered that it was actually also a book about ADHD, but in the second half, the presentation of background and strategies relating to ADHD was quite good and I think it did benefit from the Mindfulness material that came before it. I just wish it could've been a little better integrated.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the two chapters most relevant to my family, and the information and suggesstions were quite helpful. I would recommend this book as an introduction to childhood ADHD and for parents looking for new strategies for supporting their ADHD children. A concept often stressed is parents' own self-care and "mindfulness."

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

a lot of good practical information in this book. very useful.