psychology / psychopathology / attention-deficit disorder (add-adhd)

Argues that ADHD is not an entity on its own, but in fact a cluster of symptoms stemming from 12 other conditions, each of which requires a separate treatment, including giftedness, bipolar disorder, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Asperger Syndrome, and more.

Timothy Denevi's memoir of growing up as a hyperactive child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) intertwined with his even-handed and thorough reporting on the history of the diagnosis and its treatment. Simultaneously, the author traces our understanding of the origins of ADHD, from the late 19th and early 20th centuries when hyperactivity was atributed 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.