Attention, Girls!: A Guide to Learn All About Your AD/HD

by Patricia O. Quinn

This is the first book written for 'tween' girls (ages 7-11) who have ADD/ADHD. It offers girls, their parents, and professionals practical tips and techniques for managing attention disorders and the many aspects of life that these disorders can affect. This title was written in an engaging style that doesn't 'talk down' to girls. It is packed with useful and empowering lessons that are simple to apply. It was written by a developmental pediatrician who is a well-known author.

Genres: Adhd, Nonfiction, Parenting

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Patricia Quinn, MD, is a developmental pediatrician in Washington, D.C., and a clinical assistant professor of Pediatrics at the Georgetown University Medical Center. Dr. Quinn specializes in child development and psychopharmacology and has worked for over 30 years in the areas of AD/HD and learning disabilities. She gives workshops nationwide and has published widely in these fields.

Dr. Quinn is the author of several books on AD/HD and is currently the director of the National Center for Girls and Women with ADHD. In 2000, Dr. Quinn received the CHADD Hall of Fame Award.

Reviews

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I borrowed it from the library but now intend to buy it so my daughter and I can refer to it often. It is written for girls 7-11 but I am not sure my seven year old is quite ready for it all. This book is informative and helpful and written to the girl. It give great insight into how girls with ADHD differ from boys with ADHD and goes further to show differing types of girls with ADHD that they are different but may follow a pattern of hyperactive, sensitive, or daydreamer or one of several others. There are some very useful tools included to help a girl know who to turn to, when or if she shares her diagnosis with others and how to control and not be controlled by her ADHD. Thank you Patricia Quinn! I look forward to reading your other books for me :-)

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an age-appropriate and nice introduction book on ADHD. Given that this book is geared towards tween girls, I would have appreciated a chapter focused on the impact puberty and hormones might have on ADHD. This book could have also benefitted from a chapter on diet. Overall, this book is a great introductory book for young girls looking to learn more about ADHD.

[Lynzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super helpful information. Will be good for my 9 year old. Needs some notes- not all assessments are done the same. And I didn't like the chapter about who to tell. It felt to restrictive, and never have girls explicit permission to tell who they want. I feel this would be very helpful for kids who won't know that on their own.

Looking forward to discussing with my child once she reads it.

[Lindsay H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for info. I haven't gotten my 8 year old interested in reading it but it has provided me insight on how to help work with her.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An accessible book for children with ADHD.

[Vicki Wellspring · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nobody with ADHD is reading this book, and definitely not a 9-13 year old girl. It was boring and lacked empathy and connection.

[Erin Dodge · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was very simultaneously very generic and made a lot of assumptions. I felt like it never really addressed HOW to manage ADHD, but spent a lot of time associating tons of qualities a person can have with ADHD. My daughter (9, with ADHD) and I read it and all we came away with was that my daughter tried to diagnose every tomboy, every person who forgot work, everyone who was athletic... Not cool.
I think the only good thing about it would be to help a girl who is upset by the diagnosis to understand that it's not a death sentence, but it doesn't even address that ADHD is a type of mental process, NOT a disability.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very insightful and helpful read to share with my daughter. She recently has been diagnosed with ADHD and this was recommended to us by her doctor. Reading about other girls who have ADHD seemed to help my daughter feel better about her diagnosis and not so alone or different. While she personally would never have read this book on her own, I think it is a wonderful book for pre-teens on up to read on their own or with a parent. We had many conversations on how to aid her in becoming successful with school and her focus issues, that we would not have had otherwise without this book.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most helpful guides I have seen for girls with ADHD. It can be a little goofy but a lot of humor is needed to deal with the painful issues of this situation, particularly with the onset of puberty (estrogen fluxuations wreak even more havoc on girls with ADHD than their non-ADHD counterparts). Perhaps most importantly this books supports the girls reading it without handing them excuses for their behavior.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Directed specifically at girls, and spends extra time on issues of concern to girls like talking about your feelings and friends. More detail than Quinn's other book, Putting on the Brakes, but still best for ages 8-12.

[Emilee Ashline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this book is made for adolescents, I really enjoyed reading it. It described my behaviors perfectly when I was a child and it also describes my behavior now especially since I was just barely diagnosed with ADHD at 24 years old. Plus the illustrations are really cool

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for girls and parents that explains ADHD in a way that is understandable. Dr. Quinn gives great references in the back of the book. Quick read for adults

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say this book is geared more towards middle school aged kids. It has few pictures and a lot of words. However my (near) 8 year old daughter gravitated towards the cartoons.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There just wasn't enough information on organization and coping strategies. I know my daughter will get some good things out of the book, but that topic is rather lacking.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very cute and done with young girls in mind. I would like to get it again and read to my daughter.