Learning To Slow Down & Pay Attention: A Book for Kids About ADHD

by Kathleen G. Nadeau, Ellen B. Dixon, Charles Beyl (Illustrator)

Packed with practical tips, know-how, and fun, this friendly workbook just for kids has solutions for every situation — at home, at school, and with friends.

Now in its third edition, updated and expanded, with notes and resources for parents.

Topics include: From the Just for Kids  section:

Lots of kids (and some grownups, too) have trouble paying attention because it's hard for them to sit still and listen. If you answer yes to lots of these questions, you have a lot of energy! And having so much energy can make it hard to settle down and pay attention in school.

Genres: Adhd, Nonfiction, Parenting, Childrens, Psychology, Self Help, Education

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this with my 7 yr old son who has not been officially diagnosed but shows some of the symptoms of inattentive ADHD. The very first section he was kept saying, How do they know how I feel? He's found this book really helpful. He hates writing, but he's been keeping notes as we read it together of things that he wants to remember and apply. He's taking notes in a spiral, and I've turned it into a journal. Every day after school I write a 'to-do' list for him to check off and at the end of the day I write questions for him to answer about how his day went and what he can improve on. It's been really helpful and given him some control over his thoughts and choices. He's really enjoyed the book and I'll find him reading ahead sometimes too.

[Castspells · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Arabic version of this book, translated by Sami Hilal, and I believe it’s an excellent starting point for parents and children to discuss ADHD/ADD symptoms. The book effectively highlights the challenges that come with this diagnosis, particularly in communication at school and home, while also providing useful strategies for coping, such as time management, emotional regulation, and organizational skills.

However, I find some parts counterintuitive, especially the way it places the responsibility on the child to communicate their feelings and manage their anger. It seems to assume the child understands the root cause of their emotions and that the parents are flawlessly handling the situation. While well-meaning parents who purchase this book likely have good intentions, the approach oversimplifies the complexities of the diagnosis and its impact on relationships, placing undue pressure on the child.

[Amy Rhoda Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book with lots of practical tips for kids on how to live with AD[H]D. Worth buying because it has some workbook elements, and because you will probably want to refer back to it over months or years.

I read the second edition.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for grown-ups and children who live with this challenge. It's written for the kids in their language and as a resource for them so they don't feel quite so alone in their struggle. It's good for all of us to feel understood, isn't it?!

[Sarah Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book touts itself as a basic primer on ADHD written for a child. It has exercises for both self-understanding and self-improvement.

Pros: accessibly written, with good insights for families who may see their ADHD child as a 'trouble child' to help them gain some empathy and patience. Good basic starting blocks for strategies that honestly would be useful for anyone who would like to be more organized and focused.

Cons: the strategies do seem to be just good ideas for anyone who would like to be more organized and focused. There is just a small subset that might be particular to those with ADHD. But again, all of these strategies require additional planning, remembering, and thoughtful structure. Writing them TO a child with ADHD instead of their parents seems off the mark, as parents will be the one doing 70% of the work in initiating them and following up. Yes, you want buy-in and help selecting solutions, but this book states that it is for ages 6-11. That age group isn't going to be ready critically evaluating these checklists of strategies. It really should be for 10 to 18 (although some of the basics could be helpful for adults with ADHD).

Finally, I am just personally disappointed in the lack of insight I gained for help with my six year old. So many of the strategies are just good parenting tips. It just overburdens kids with additional things to remember, journals to keep, checklists to mark, and worksheets to fill out, when getting your child to do any of those things in the first place is the actual problem.

EDIT: upon further reflection, I think a lot of my frustration was in that there were not a lot of new ideas, just many things that I had already been trying. But that doesn’t mean that this resource isn’t a good one. Working with ADD/ADHD just takes time and effort, and there aren’t any magic bullets.

[Dan Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

As anyone reading this book knows already, it's pretty hard to get your ADHD kid to focus on a book.
The games and pauses in the book did a great job of capturing that elusive attention and holding the focus. Also it's in small enough serving sizes that you can read a short bit, take a break and and/or switch to reading a "fun" book.

Lots of the things we already have him doing were explained in a way he could understand and digest, so I hope this has helped him to understand his own mind and his struggles a bit better.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK so I TECHNICALLY did not finish this book but not because I disliked it or anything like that. It is a great book and has SO MANY helpful tricks. I just didn't finish it because it's geared for kids probably 3rd grade and up so many of the things didn't really apply to my kindergartener and she ended up asking more questions about "what's that" then finding tips that work for her. Would recommend for older elementary kids & their parents though.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A teacher friend has retired and cleaned out most of her books. I was the lucky recipient of a lot of her books. I like to read the books before bringing them into my classroom. This book would be great for an elementary child to understand why they struggle and gives them practical ways to cope.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superbly functional, readable, and helpful book for kids who are having trouble organizing and focusing themselves. As a parent, I find it an extremely helpful book as well, and best of all, it's a book we can read together to help both child and parent understand one another and enable us to talk out strategies for us both.

[JTGlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast, easy and a lot of common sense approaches. Geared towards elementary aged children.

[Crystal Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Learning to Slow Down and Pay Attention by Kathleen G. Nadeau, Ph.D. and Ellen B. Dixon, Ph.D. who had the brilliant idea that in a sea of books written on this subject for teachers and parents, there should be one for the children as well. It's written in direct and easy to understand language that kids can relate to even if they haven't been diagnosed with ADHD and just have trouble paying attention. The illustrations by Charles Beyl are simple and entertaining. It has pages with checklists, worksheets, and note areas to keep them interacting and rewarded for completing chapters and feeling as if the book was personalized just for them. I think this is a wonderful additional resource for ADHD from the children's perspective.
I received this in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Kim Benouski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a self-help guide for kids with ADHD to help them focus. I haven't tested it on my son yet, but I read it and shared some pages with him. He found it to be funny how they say, "you're getting bored now so here's a puzzle/game" every now and then. The cartoons are a hit too. If nothing else, it's a good conversation opener for kids who don't want to discuss how to help themselves.

[Kristina]

I've read through this in my own. My husband is going to read it and then we are going to read through it with our son. Once we see how he feels about it, I plan to rate and review it. My initial thoughts are very positive though. I see this as a great resource for families who have children with ADHD.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book if you have kids with ADD. I borrowed the copy that I read, so I'm buying it now and reading it with our kids. It's a very easy read and is geared toward older elementary school age kids.

[Tammy Schafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource. What makes it different than all the rest is the actual tips on social strategies. The problem solving chapter is especially useful. More information like this is needed for kids and parents who love them.

[Karen Dog mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son read this in one sitting. It was paced well for a 9 year old and included little cartoons which made it more interesting than other ADHD books I've picked up. I liked the layout and the simple ideas. Easy read and worth the time.

[Brittany Nerdin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book for kids with ADHD, give lots of useful suggestions, helps kids understand and express themselves.

[Maurice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book helped me with many ways to slow down. Thank you

[Ann]

Good book to read with young elementary children