Scattered Minds

The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder

By: Gabor Maté MD

Narrated by: Daniel Maté

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • The breakthrough guide to understanding, treating, and healing attention deficit disorder, from renowned mental health expert and speaker, Dr. Gabor Maté.

With a new preface by the author.

From the bestselling author of When the Body Says No and The Myth of Normal, Scattered Minds explodes the myth of attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) as genetically based—and offers real hope and advice for children and adults who live with the condition. In it, Maté, who himself is diagnosed with ADD:

• Demonstrates that the condition is not a genetic "illness" but a response to environmental stress, and how "distractibility" is the psychological product of life experience;
• Explains how ADD/ADHD can arise when circuits in the brain whose job is emotional self-regulation and attention control can fail to develop in infancy—and why;
• Allows parents to understand what makes their children with ADD/ADHD tick, and helps adults with ADD/ADHD gain insights into their emotions and behaviours;
• Expresses optimism about neurological development even in adulthood;
• Presents a program of how to promote this development in both children and adults

…and much more.

Maté gives voice to the painful realities of ADD/ADHD and its effect on children as well as on careers and social paths in adults. Moving beyond "genetic risk," he focuses on the things we can control: changes in environment, family dynamics, and parenting choices. He draws heavily on his own experience with the disorder, as someone diagnosed with ADD and as the parent of three diagnosed children.

Providing a thorough overview of ADD/ADHD and its treatments, Scattered Minds is essential and life-changing reading for parents and the millions of diagnosed adults in North America today.

Critic reviews

“Maté has done us a great service. He tells those of us who do not have ADD what it is like to have [it]. Those with ADD, their loved ones and physicians will profit from reading this book. People who do not yet know they have it will have their lives transformed.” —Canadian Medical Association Journal

“One of the most comprehensive and accessible books about ADD. [A] well-documented but sure to be controversial book.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[A] rare and richly textured explanation of the complex and subtle interactions of nature and nurture in the developing personality. You won't find a drug chart or Seven Easy Steps to the Road Less Scattered here. You will find family stories, an accessible description of brain development and sound information. You will also find hope.” —The Globe and Mail

“Caring, sympathetic, supportive, and helpful. It [is] also an extremely well-written and engaging read.” —Georgia Straight