This was a great book on the basics of ADHD . A lot of material on ADHD are quite old and outdated or hold certain older biases even when explaining how ADHD has changed. This book does not do that and I, a person with ADHD, appreciate that.

I found this book to be a great balance between explaining ADHD for the layperson while also doing a deeper dive into the science of ADHD that I have not seen before in the many ADHD books I have read. Great addition to all Nonfiction collections!

A super helpful look at how to better live with ADHD in todays world - as someone who was diagnosed later in life, I'm constantly unlearning coping mechanisms that i've adapted over the years that aren't entirely helpful. This book is choked full of helpful information, science, and strategies that help people like me thrive in a world that doesn't always understand us.

A must read for all who have or love someone with ADHD

This was a very insightful book to ADHD - it gave great tips on how to deal with ADHD as well as how the ADHD brain works.

This book was Informative, insightful, and a resource I will reference. I learned a bunch about the inner workings of the brain, and about myself.

📚Thank you @randomhouse for gifting me this book. ADHD 2.0 by Drs. Edward Hallowell and John Ratey is a practical, user-friendly guide to what ADHD is and is not. My job often involves identifying ADHD symptoms in students, and I appreciated the helpful strategies that can be implemented in the home, school and work environments. The book also addresses holistic and pharmaceutical treatment options (e.g., sleep, exercise, medicine). I’ve heard parents express fears about ADHD medicine and possible side effects, and the authors provide clear information to help parents make informed decisions. I preferred some intervention options over others, and the authors are transparent about their personal interactions with the interventions, which I appreciated. Recommended if you want to learn more about ADHD and guidance on how to address it.

I found this book to be a comprehensive, yet somewhat expected, overview of ADHD. It's a great primer for someone who is new to the diagnosis.

ADHD 2.0 gave many good insights and tips on how to deal with ADHD throughout your life, would recommend everyone to give this a read.

If you have ADHD, read this book. If you have a child with ADHD, read this book. If you have a friend with ADHD, buy them this book! It is the best compilation of explanations and advice that I have seen, and will be a valuable life tool for those who follow the advice. And it isn’t specifically a fix-it book - it just offers valid explanations of how the ADHD brain works, and gives many tools to take advantage of its strengths and help with its weaknesses. The authors explore a variety of suggestions that are reasonable to put into practice, but I thought an outstanding aspect of the book was the easy to understand explanation of the ADHD brain’s inner workings. ADHD is presented not as a weakness or a terrible thing to have, but as something that can be turned to one’s advantage. And what a lovely change that is from authors who view it as something to subdue. I recommend this book most highly.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the Ballantine for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

ADHD 2.0 by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D.; John J. Ratey, M.D. was a comprehensive read; it focuses on explaining ADHD (beyond what we see in movies and tv shows) and provides examples of how to treat it.

Both of the authors have real-world experience recognizing and treating ADHD and that stood out since they could speak from positions of authority. They were able to not only focus on middle and upper-middle-class families who needed to recognize different symptoms, but there was some reflection on LMI families with may not be as primed to recognize symptoms as more than behavioral issues.

The most interesting part of the book was the look at the current medications for treating ADHD but I wonder if that will quickly make the book need updates. There is a ton of information on support groups as well as ways to get tested to get that diagnosis. The book was organized in a way that makes it possible to read cover-to-cover or to dip in at different points for the specific information that a reader is looking for, making this a great resource to read multiple times.

This was an excellent book about the latest insights into the ADHD mind and a review of some of the basics. Driven to Distraction was of the best book I have read about ADHD and ADHD 2.0 is excellent follow up of the newest information. I really enjoyed the section about interdependent thinking and how it applies to a lack of cult mentality. A must read!

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy provided thru NetGalley.

Informative and encouraging, this is the book I would most recommend to families navigating a new diagnosis or individuals exploring treatment options.

I have learned so much reading this book. I was diagnosed with adhd in the spring and man this book is so informative. I plan on telling gazillions of people to read it. U have gained so much understanding!

My son and I both have ADHD, which is the main reason I picked up ADHD 2.0. I've read the authors' other work and found it helpful. There were several big lightbulb moments for me while reading this, most particularly the idea of ADHD brains being race cars with bicycle brakes. That being said, when I finished it I still felt like I wanted more, though I couldn't come up with anything particular that was missing. I certainly recommend it for anyone with ADHD themselves or in their families.

This was a helpful book, though I expected it to be a little more helpful. The authors literally "wrote the book" on what was then known as ADD (they point out that it's now referred to as ADHD whether there is hyperactivity or not, and ADD is no longer a current term). My 13 y/o has a lot of trouble struggling with issues that are probably ADHD and most of my other kids (or all of them) would probably qualify as well. As homeschoolers, we've been able to adapt their environment to meet their needs so it hasn't been as much of an issue, but Alex has been specifically asking me for tools to help him sit still and concentrate better during things like books and movies. This had some good information for him, though I was hoping for a bit more.

I do love that the authors tell kids that their brains are basically "race car engines with bicycle brakes" and the book is very reassuring about how intelligent, creative, driven, etc. people with ADHD are. It focuses on the positives and how to bring them out. There's also a lot of science about what's going on, and it was helpful to read about things like the sense of balance and how working that helps with focus. He talks a little bit about issues like sleep, time in nature and foods, more about the importance of exercise, and some about medications. There's a helpful chart of every kind of med that's reprinted from ADDitude magazine, with columns listing how long each one lasts, side effects, etc. We're not really interested in medications but the book recommends them and the authors both use them. I also appreciate that the book focuses on connecting with kids, encouraging them, supporting them, giving them enough love, etc. It really hammers in that these kids need love and connection above all else to thrive.

I was hoping for more tips, I suppose, along the lines of the Sensory Integration tips I used to use to help my kids concentrate when they were little (give them weighted stuffed animals to hold, give them something to fidget with, do specific exercises before you need them to focus, chew something sour....) but this is more along the lines of the big picture and big steps to implement. It's still a great book, and it contains the most up to date research, resources and lots more.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

This is a fantastic resource for counseling for me because I’ve had few resources specifically in ADHD! It gave me some practical tools to help my husband too. I will definitely be referencing and recommending!

I really enjoyed the easy voice of this book! I’m newly diagnosed with ADHD (at 29) and related to a lot of what is in here! My husband also has ADHD, and we suspect our children may too.

I enjoyed the practical explanations of various techniques. I especially found the information in TPN and DMN fascinating, and I’ve been incorporating balance exercises into our day and finding ways to help my son realize he has a race at brain without breaks!

I have been a long-time fan and follower of Dr. Hallowell. As the only non-ADHD member in my household, I have often turned to his insights and teachings to explain that which I truly cannot relate. I first started readings his works many years ago when my kids were little, and I was looking for tools to help them succeed at school and set some semblance of normalcy in our home. I was so focused on my littles, I did not fully appreciate the wisdom to be gained for my spouse. When I saw ADHD 2.0, I knew I had to read this! There is so much still to be learned and understood, especially as the littles are not so little, and my spouse is thriving in a world of technology and multi-tasking. Once again, my mind was truly expanded as I could see why things happen the way they do with the people I love and care about. I understand that they truly think, process, and progress very differently than I do and there is room to appreciate these differences. I am deeply grateful and thankful for the work and research that continues to be done for people with ADD/ADHD and that it is so freely shared. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ADD/ADHD or lives with anyone else who does. It will reset your understanding of so many things and provide space for grace where there has previously been frustration and misunderstanding. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own and freely given.

I was really excited to have the chance to read this latest book by Drs. Hallowell and Ratey. These doctors literally wrote the book when it comes to ADD - their first book, Driven to Distraction, came out in the early 90s, and was not only the first book to introduce ADD to the world, but also the Bible of ADD treatment and diagnosis. The first book on ADD but also the best, Driven to Distraction was a huge help to my family and millions of others.

So it is no surprise that ADD 2.0 is equally helpful, and can serve as the ADD Bible 2.0 for the 2020s and beyond. In this book, Drs. Ratey and Hallowell discuss cultural ADD as well as medically diagnosed ADD, and suggest that a better name for ADD-like traits would be VAST, or “Variable Attention Stimulus Trait.” This is a much appreciated effort to take ADD out of the realm of “deficit” or “disease” and place it more on the larger spectrum of neurodiversity. This book provides advice not only for ADDers but for everyone living in our increasingly short-attention spanned culture. There is a lot of info packed into this book, and, knowing that science and brain stuff might be hard for an ADD audience to focus on, the authors pepper their dense information with patient stories, analogies and many other interesting tidbits to help the reader commit the useful information to memory. There is a lot of great information here too about the increased creativity and intelligence that exists in most ADD folks, which is always helpful to identify and emphasize.

I was particularly appreciative of the chapter discussing ADD medications, calling out the panic that has arisen over the use of stimulants to treat ADD in recent years. Though the book thoroughly discusses non-medication treatment options, it also discusses both stimulant and non-stimulant medication for ADD in a responsible and compelling way. In addition to describing how these meds work on the ADD brain, the doctors make a compelling case that these meds actually DECREASE addiction for properly diagnosed ADDers, who otherwise tend to seek stimulation and self-medication in unhealthy and unscientific ways.

There is just a ton of additional useful information here on brain research, neuroplasticity, behavioral research, and more, making this book a thorough update on VAST/ADHD for modern times. If you have an ADD person in your life, or are driven to distraction yourself, this book provides concrete tools based in science for working within that brain framework, and also for appreciating the creativity and other actual benefits it may also bring. This book is equally great whether you/your loved one with ADD/VAST is a child or an adult.

Three cheers again for Drs. Hallowell and Ratey for continuing to demystify and destigmatize the ADD brain. Our world is better because of their work.