ADD: The 20-Hour Solution

Mark Steinberg & Siegfried Othmer
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2004)
ISBN 1931741379
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)

If you’ve ever dealt with an ADD/HD child you know the frustration of a child fidgeting, disrupting others and needing constant supervision.  If you are that frustrated, just imagine the frustration of the child.  The authors have offered us a clear and concise look at ADD/HD.  They have offered us an option that does not include medication. 

Matthew’s parents and teachers are at their wits end.  They sincerely want to help Matthew but don’t know how.  “This book is about helping kids like Matthew:  ADD/ADHD children who possess the potential to succeed, but who chronically function below their abilities because they cannot regulate themselves. ‘ADD: The 20-Hour Solution’ describes and examines a revolutionary hi-tech methodology called EEG biofeedback (also called neurofeedback) that has unequivocally demonstrated its efficacy in helping chronically inattentive, distractible, impulsive, and hyperactive children regulate themselves.”

“The pluses of EEG biofeedback training in treating ADD/ADHD children are extensive.  This quick and painless treatment:

- Provides a viable alternative to psychotropic medication
- Trains children to self-regulate naturally and safely
- Trains children to adjust automatically to changing demands and conditions
- Emancipates children from continually professional supervision
- Creates a synergistic effect that can help other treatments work more effectively
- Permits parents to become involved directly in the treatment process”

Steinberg and Othmer discuss ADD/ADHD in terms that a layman can understand. Parents and teachers will be wondering why this book wasn’t written years ago.  The authors propose that ADD should stand for Arousal Disregulation Disorder.  They made an excellent case for their opinion.  In detail they discuss Matthew, a child that has ADD/ADHD.  I found myself sympathizing with Matthew; he cannot control his fidgets and distractions.  He soon becomes labeled as trouble and that label follows him from year to year.  “Matthew had trouble staying in his seat and keeping his hands to himself.  Note that he was ‘verbally exuberant when others wanted him to be quiet, and … withdrawn and often clueless when people demanded answers…’ Matthew was simply lost in an eternal maze of jumbled, intense feelings, sporadic mood shifts, changes in energy level and focus, and incomplete thoughts. These are hallmark signs of disregulation.”

This book is well written and documented.  As I stated previously it is written in terms that laymen can understand.  I highly recommend this book to teachers, parents, grandparents and all who deal with children with ADD/ADHD.  I believe “ADD: The 20-Hour Solution” is the answer for many children.

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