The Add Myth: How to Cultivate the Unique Gifts of Intense Personalities

Millions of children each year are misdiagnosed as suffering from ADD. They do not have Attention Deficit Disorder. In fact, no such condition exists!. Those 5 million children exhibit what Martha Burge describes as “Five Intense Personality Types.” ADHD coach, Martha Burge, proposes that those suffering from what is commonly understood as ADHD are not sick or impaired. They are just different and with the appropriate therapy, can become exceptional human beings. THE ADD MYTH explains: · The five intense personality traits: sensual, psychomotor, intellectual, creative and emotional · Where intense people fit on the spectrum of personality types · Why the medical profession should seek alternative explanations for ADHD Included are stories, practical steps and daily practices for developing one's intense nature with the least amount of suffering. Burge, also, includes her own story of having both of her children diagnosed with ADHD, the serious reactions they had to drug treatment and how she began her search for an alternative approach to help them. THE ADD MYTH will raise awareness of the underlying condition of intensity and help people who previously thought of themselves as broken develop more fulfilling lives. “Burge provides wise advice, practical tips, and useful techniques. Her style is lively, accessible, vivid, and intimate. Readers will feel engaged, understood, and inspired as she transforms problematic symptoms into opportunities for growth and self-discovery.” —Allen Frances, MD, professor emeritus and former chair, Department of Psychiatry, Duke University About 10% of American children (and 5% of adults) have been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), and a multibillion-dollar industry has grown up around the diagnosis, with potentially dangerous stimulants, writes “ADD coach” Burge. In her sure-to-be controversial book debunking the disorder, she asserts that those branded with ADHD experience stimuli—physical, sensory, emotional—more intensely than others. There is no such thing as ADD, she asserts. Instead, the problem for those who are distracted, disorganized, fidgety, and impulsive is to learn how to turn their intensity into a strength. Burge bashes the forthcoming edition of the psychiatric bible, the DSM-V, with its broader ADHD criteria, as well as a drug industry profiting from the label. She then offers “practices”—many based on meditation techniques—to calm, soothe, and sharpen the mind. Hers is a bold stand, and Burge is partly backed by Frances, who was task force chairman for the current DSM-IV. Still, Burge's guidance is more suited for adults who understand their difficulties than struggling school kids. Still, her assertions should at least spur scrutiny of an “epidemic” that continues to stymie its sufferers and their families. - Publishers Weekly