They Say I Have ADHD, I Say Life Sucks!

What is wrong with Nicholas? Nothing is wrong with Nicholas, he just happens to have ADHD. Readers follow Nicholas, and his animated and sometimes comical clock companion, through a typical day. A day in which Nicholas loses a friend or two, talks too much, forgets his homework, gets sent to the principal's office, is teased by his peers, and feels all around inadequate. Readers can vividly view how the symptoms of ADHD accumulate and often follow a domino effect. Readers will also gain insight into the thoughts and feelings behind many of the behaviors exhibited by children who have ADHD. As reviewed by New York Times best-selling author Ellen Tanner Marsh Recently Mark Haddon wrote a book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which made the unusual and imaginative leap of letting a boy with autism tell the story himself. Whether fictional or not, books about characters with one psychological dysfunction or another are typically written from the third-person point of view so that we learn the "truths" from someone other than the sufferer. In They Say I Have ADHD, I Say Life Sucks! Thoughts From Nicholas, Lisa-Anne Ray-Byers brilliantly and adeptly follows the same principle as Haddon, allowing Nicholas-a boy with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-to tell his own story. Nicholas wonders, Why can't I be normal? In truth, disorganization and messiness go with being a kid, but Nicholas has been convinced of exactly the opposite by a mother and teachers who do not seem to understand childhood, nor how to accommodate Nicholas's actual "disorder." Fortunately, Ray-Byers has done an outstanding job telling this story in the first person, thus bringing much needed insight to the difficulties children with ADHD face from their waking hours until bedtime. To read this book is to learn to sympathize and certainly to gain a better understanding that may possibly lead to better treatment for those afflicted. For this reason alone, the value of this book cannot be overstated! About Lisa-Anne Lisa-Anne Ray-Byers is a native of the beautiful island of Bermuda. She immigrated to the United States after completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Communicative Disorders from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She has worked in education and special education for two decades with children of all ages. She has a Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Multicultural Education from the College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, New York. She has also completed additional graduate coursework at the College of New Rochelle for certification in educational administration. She is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist and is currently employed in a local public school district. In addition to her duties as a speech-language pathologist, the author also writes a weekly question and answer column in four local newspapers entitled Ask Lisa-Anne. Her column covers topics in education, education law, special education, and numerous related issues. In 2006, she launched her educational website www.AskLisaAnne.com as a resource for parents, therapists and teachers. She also shares a monthly educational e-newsletter as an extension of her website. Lisa-Anne resides in New York with her husband and their four children. You may contact her at speechlrb@yahoo.com.