Alphabet Kids - From ADD to Zellweger Syndrome

This book is a wonderful tome of knowledge on neurobiological , developmental and genetic diseases which any parent or professional dealing with atypical children or indeed adults, should have at their fingertips. Many hours can be wasted on the internet trying to find a disorder that fit's a particular person's unique set of problems and assets. Many parents have come up with countless possible diagnoses only to find that none fit exactly. This book highlights how many conditions can co-exist, one even masking another and shows how interconnected many problems are. Knowledge is empowering as it enables one to seek help and interventions early, to adjust the environment and expectations toward a particular child. It can also help to illuminate and understand one's own chequered history and struggles, freed from the guilt and presumption that it is self-inflicted or caused by poor parenting.

There are a few books that almost every household in the land own - a dictionary, a medical dictionary, an atlas, an encyclopaedia, and might I suggest one more - ‘Alphabet Kids' - all are resource books that one returns to again and again.

A very conservative figure suggests that 1 in 6 people will be affected by a neurobiological/developmental disorders, although the real figure is probably nearer 1 in 4. There are, after all, many adults who look back on their own childhood with great sadness, confusion and pain, recalling numerous problems; problems of failing to fit in, of not being able to concentrate, perhaps being bullied, all leaving the adult with unresolved feelings of inadequacy and guilt. These undiagnosed adults remain uncounted and invisible, silently bearing the costs of an era that failed to understand.

Woliver is a bestselling author and journalist so has the professional credentials to research and write such a book, but more importantly, perhaps, he draws on personal experience, he knows how hard it can be to get the right diagnosis and help for a child. This book enables parents to make sense of a range of symptoms and signposts them to a likely diagnosis. As the title suggests, it looks at many different disorders beginning with different letters of the alphabet. Each problem uses a real life scenario to illustrate the problem, followed by ‘did you know,' a list of signs and symptoms, the causes, how to get a diagnosis, what treatment is available, the prognosis and finally sources and resources.

Many parents have been dismissed by 'experts' who fail to listen to them or believe them and arrogantly cling to their beliefs and diagnoses, often unwilling to reconsider or to call on other professionals. This book should give parents the confidence to challenge such blinkered professionals and seek out appropriate support from multiple sources if necessary.

When I review books for asteens, I am usually very conscientious and generally do read every word, even when bored by, or in disagreement with the content. I feel I owe it to the author to properly read their work if I am going to comment on it. I also feel that anyone who reads the review and decides to spend their hard earned cash on something I recommend should expect me to be informed. I must confess that I did not read every listed disorder for it really wasn't necessary. Instead I focused on what interests me and then randomly selected 15 more. I have, for instance, often wondered if I have Attention Deficit Disorder as I found it very hard to take in more than a tenth of any classes in childhood and as an adult can't concentrate, especially in the presence of others. I had dismissed such a label because I am generally very well organised and can concentrate on some tasks, usually completing what needs to be done in good time. However, on reading the criteria I discovered that this did not preclude me from having ADD and if I lived in America, I feel I would like to have a try at Ritalin to see if it would help.

There is, of course, a danger of starting this book as a perfectly normal individual but by the end suffering from 56 disorders, but joking aside, many people know that they had several problems and traits in childhood which severely affected them and may continue to do so in adulthood. Such problems merit a label and need to be recognised, acknowledged and possibly treated. I had many problems as a child and lived in an era when such problems were not treated kindly, were judged as self or parent -inflicted and certainly received no meaningful treatment or empathy for the considerable suffering experienced. This book can help lay some ghosts to rest, allowing personal acceptance and a new understanding.

This is not a book for hypochondriacs, not least because your condition is not even mentioned - sorry!
It is however, a book that should be on the bookshelf's of parents with children of difference, of all educators and clinicians. It can be consulted for information on specific problems or more generally to search for answers. In reading it you cannot forget that we are all unique and that most problems have a cause and many can be cured, treated and if not treated, at least understood and accepted with knowledge, compassion and patience. It also reminds us that our knowledge of such conditions is evolving and the biological/genetic and epigenetic causes will continue to be found.