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Bright Not Broken: Gifted Kids, ADHD, And Autism (2011)

by Diane M. Kennedy(Favorite Author)

3.72 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0470623322 (ISBN13: 9780470623329)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Jossey-Bass

review 1: I'm not sure if I came into this book with the wrong expectations, but this book spent the first third discussing how it was the opinion of the authors and some psychologists that ADHD isn't really a disease in itself - that it's really just a part of the autism spectrum - and in many cases with gifted children may simply be a symptom of giftedness that some children display. The second third talks about how the DSM is made by people who are researchers and don't actually see people and so are designing it to help their research instead of helping actual people. The last part presents pie-in-the-sky ideals of here is what you need to find in a program to help your kids. I was hoping for information that would help, not just lead me to doubt my children's diagnosis and give... more me hopes for programs that don't exist - not so much help about how to get help for my children in their own schools with IEPs. (Well, sure the pie-in-the-sky does exist in a few expensive private schools across the country.) In my opinion, it doesn't really tell you much about how to help your children in their situation.It had good intentions and is informational but really missed the mark of actually being helpful.
review 2: An interesting discussion about twice-exceptional ("2e") children, particularly gifted kids with an autism-spectrum disorder and/or ADHD. Much of the book is focused on discrediting the DSM system, which is of course imperfect, but these authors were extreme. Not sure how qualified they were to do so, since they seem to just be essentially parents of 2e kids. Tried to add some clout by adding Temple Grandin's name to the book cover, with only a small amount of input from her (mostly in the form of anecdotes about her personal life/experience).But overall, a good discussion of the unique needs of 2e kids & the overlap between the "symptoms" of giftedness, high-functioning autism/Asperger's, ADHD, & other issues. less

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