Hyper : : a Personal History of Adhd

Locations
Call Number: 616.858 De
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	616.858 De	4-week checkout	On Shelf

"Simon & Schuster nonfiction original hardcover"--
"Hyper: A Personal History of ADHD is Timothy Denevi's memoir of growing up as a hyperactive child, intertwined with his even-handed and thorough reporting on the history of the diagnosis and its treatment. Beginning with the moment he first started having severe emotional fits, his book traces his compelling and moving journey through fifteen years of diagnosis and treatment as he illuminates the medical and psychological theories and practices that shape our understanding of this controversial diagnosis. In the 1980s, mental disorders were just beginning to be seen as biological in origin; hyperactivity was being medicated with a variety of stimulants. In Timothy's first week on Ritalin at the age of six, the medication triggered a psychotic reaction. He ran into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and threatened to kill himself in front of his mother. Doctors prescribed behavior therapy, then antidepressants. Nothing worked. The reader never stops caring for Timothy as he makes is way through grade school and high school, knowing he is a problem for those who love him, longing to be able to be good and fit in, hanging out with boys who have similar symptoms but meet quite different ends, and finally realizing he must come to grips with his disorder before his life spins completely out of control. Simultaneously, the author traces our understanding of the origins of the condition, from the late 19th and early 20th centuries when hyperactivity was attributed to defective moral conscience, demons, or head trauma, through the twentieth century when food additives, bad parenting, and even government conspiracies were blamed, to the most recent genetic research"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Table of Contents
Fiction Profile
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

No community reviews. Write one below!