LIVING LIFE IN THE FAST LANE—WITHOUT BRAKES

Bestselling Author’s New Book Explores the Challenges of ADHD

“It is not that Johnny doesn’t care about the future; it is that the future and the past don’t even seem to exist. Such is the nature of the disability,” writes Dr. Martin L. Kutscher, author of the best-selling Kids in the Syndrome Mix of ADHD, LD, Asperger’s, Tourette’s, Bipolar, and More! Dr. Kutscher is referring to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) which, according to the Centers for Disease Control, affects 4.4 million children ages 4 through 17—a full 7.8% of the school-aged population.

In his new book, ADHD—Living without Brakes, [Jessica Kingsley Publishers, February 2008, 192 pages, hardback, 978-1-84310-873-3, $19.95], Dr. Kutscher presents a concise and highly accessible look at what parents and busy professionals need to know about ADHD.

“The idea was to be brief, but not ‘dumbed down.’ Realistic, yet optimistic,” writes Dr. Kutscher. He describes the spectrum of ADHD and its co-occurring symptoms and addresses common difficulties that parents face. Living without Brakes focuses on solutions based around four rules (keep it positive, keep it calm, keep it organized and keep repeating and enforcing rules one through three). Kutscher emphasizes that treating ADHD “is not war. We are all on the same team. It is hard work, but you will make it through this. You have no other choice.”

Dr. Kutscher also discusses the often controversial subject of using psychoactive drugs to treat ADHD. Although he reinforces that medication is never the first or only choice of treatment, he does advocate the use of medication if behavioral strategies prove ineffective. “We don’t tell a person with epilepsy to ‘Just get your act together!’ We don’t tell people screaming in pain from a migraine that she just needs more willpower in order to stop her vomiting and headache,” Dr. Kutscher writes. “Unfortunately, many of us are still a few centuries behind when it comes to psychiatric disease, blaming it on the very people who are trying to cope with their conditions.” In fact, as Dr. Kutscher points out, multiple studies show that the use of stimulants in ADHD children is associated with a greatly reduced risk of future substance abuse (when compared to ADHD children who are not successfully treated). 

Perhaps, most importantly, Dr. Kutscher expounds the belief that although ADHD is a disability, it is not without its benefits. He writes that ADHD is sometimes, “fantastic and enviable. While the rest of us are obsessing about the future, or consumed with the past, people with ADHD are experiencing the present. Their flux of ideas may lead to creative innovations. And most importantly, their extreme passion can be a source of inspiration and accomplishment to the benefit of us all.”

Martin L. Kutscher, MD, is Assistant Clinical Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology of New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY, and has worked in the Rye Brook, New York area since 1987 with children who have special neurological needs. Dr. Kutscher is board certified in Pediatrics and in Neurology with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology. He received his BA from Columbia University, his MD from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed a pediatric residency at Temple University’s St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. His neurology residency and pediatric neurology fellowship were completed at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is the author of Kids in the Syndrome Mix of ADHD, LD, Asperger’s, Tourette’s, Bipolar, and More! The one stop guide for parents, teachers, and other professionals and Children with Seizures: A Guide for Parents, Teachers, and Other Professionals, both published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

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For further information or for a review copy, please contact:

Teresa Finnegan, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 400 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA  19106, USA

Tel: (215) 922-1161; Fax: (215) 922-1161; email: teresa.finnegan@jkp.com