Hi :)

I am new to these forums and also relatively new to learning about ADHD. I am 19 years old and the fiance of someone who suffers from ADHD. He has suffered from it since he was a child. He currently takes medication and is receiving counselling.

I was just wondering if anyone could give me any advice on the best ways in which to support him please? I am reading about ADHD but any other advice and/or practical tips which people could give me would be much appreciated.

Thanks for reading! :)

Welcome to the Forum.

I'm not sure what you're reading, but there are a number of excellent books out there.

The more a (non-ADHD) person's knows about ADHD,the better it is to understand and communicate w/ an ADHD person.

One of the difficulties with a non ADHD person undesrtanding it has to do with the fact that one of the current 15 different working definitions is that AADHD is a "dimensional disorder."

What that means is that the symptoms are such that everyone in the world displays those behaviors at some point in their lives.

Therefore, it is important to know what factors are involved in trying to separate things out.

I'm sure other Forum members will have reading suggestions but here are 3 of my favorites:

1) Driven To Distraction...by Ed Hallowell and someone else I can't remember...lol (sorry)

2) You Mean I'm Not LAzy, Stupid or Crazy?...by Kate Kelly & Peg Ramundo

3) The ADHD Book of Lists...by Sandra Rief

The last book is really a compilation of all or most of the important research findings from the last 15 years or so.

She's grouped the research findings according to different headings and then listed the references of where they came from.

For example, if you were interested in reading all 15 of the current working definitions of ADHD, they're right there on pages 3-4.:)

Like I said before, there are many excellent books on the subject and I'm sure the other Forum members will offer some excellent advice.

Good luck and again, welcome.

mctavish23 (Robert)

Hi and welcome to the forums!

Robert's list of recommended reading is excellent. I also like these books:

Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults by Thomas Brown does a good job of explaining deficits that crop up with ADD.

In addition to Delivered from Distraction by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey (amazing I actually knew a tid bit McT didn't!:D ), I highly recommend their other two books Answers to Distraction (short question answer formet) and Delivered from Distraction.

Adult AD/HD byMichele Novotni and Thomas Whitman explain things in an easy to understand fashion and have lots of practical advice.

Lynn Weiss's book Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults deals quite a bit in what it's like to live with an ADHD person, so you might like that one.

Hang in there -- proper treatment can make a big difference to your marriage -- it sure did for mine.

One of Hallowell and Ratey's books (I forget which) has a whole list of suggestions for couples on surviving ADD.

Take care,
Scattered