Scattered. How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates And What You Can Do About It

Customer Reviews

One-Third Good, Two-Thirds Mumbo Jumbo

2003-12-21
The first third of the book is very good at recognizing ADD as a legitimate problem. If you're ADD yourself, it is kind of seductive and makes you want to keep reading, and you feel as if some really good information is soon to follow. However, somewhere between 40 to 50 percent of the way through it starts to get pretty "out there" and repetitive in it's "out thereitiveness".

In a nutshell the author is trying to say that since the baby did not get as much attention as it needed (due to its predisposed sensitivity) from it's parents, it did not have time to develop it's prefontal cortex. But does the author really believe himself here? OK, it's a theory that sounds good to a naive individual...but is this doctor really convicted of what he is saying?

If a child was never taught to walk by their parents, they would eventually figure it out. There is no "One-foot in front of the other-deficit disorder". But there are people who are physically handicapped at birth. Trust me, my parents were fully there for me in every conceivable way during my childhood. But I still have ADD and do best when it is treated as a biological disorder.

I think the authors theory is about as sound as this one: "The socialistic medical system in Canada has flooded doctor offices with everyone that cuts their finger or has a bad case of the runs. Outside of a really good eye-surgeon in Windsor, this system has cranked out the quackiest of theories by their practitioners."

But we know that theory has no basis. Neither does much of this authors ADD theory.

NOW YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE CAUSE OF ATTENTION DEFICIT DISOR 2002-06-25
This phenomenal book, Scattered, by Dr. Gabor Mate, goes beyond causing us to totally rethink anything we thought we knew about Attention Deficit Disorder. Dr. Mate introduces us to an eye- opening concept that the cause of ADD is that children (he explains that it's due to what is called a lack of attunement between parent and child) are often not registering and processing the love of even the most caring parents. The author does a masterful job of explaining why this is so. Suddenly, one appreciates just how much knowledge and awareness must go in to the complex job of parenting. Dr. Mate truly has a gift for sharing this information in a way that will mesmerize readers of this inspiring book. After reading Scattered, many will no doubt come to the realization that they, or someone they love, may suffer from ADD or Adult ADD. I owe Dr. Mate a debt of gratitude for clarifying why so many people are experiencing such hurt and pain. Needless to say, I recommend this book as being crucially important for anyone who has reached a point of desperation in terms of understanding the cause of their emotional problems. This book should be mandatory reading for every teacher - for anyone who works with children. Thank you, Dr. Mate for your intuitive insights and this groundbreaking work that could change the world by impacting on all the generations to come.

Still learning after all these years 2002-04-14
I read this book when it first came out, I think my son was 5 at the time. I always kept the message, that the long term objective was not symptom control or even behavior control, but development. That is the book in a nutshell. Try to understand your child, and make his development as a human being the most important thing...it's extraordinarily hard and forces you to grow up as a parent and think of your child first. Common sense that is not so common. And it is NOT a quick solution. It was something my parents figured out a long time ago; when some of my friends wanted to run away because of mistreatment as teenagers, we always knew we had it too good. Understanding beats the hell out of beatings...

Be forwarned, don't read this book unless you really want to be there for your child...We all are guilty of being human and making millions of mistakes, and most kids are easy to raise in compared to the "sensitive" child. This book just asks you to be compassionate. It is so hard, but so rewarding.

Rose

Great for laying on Parent Guilt 2002-04-11
I have an ADHD child and I have always wondered WHY? Is it genetic since he does have at least an Uncle, an Aunt, two cousins and a Father with ADD or ADHD? Oh no it's not geenetic! but now I have the answer from Gabor Mate!!

It is due to MY poor parenting skills! It is due to not providing a stable, loving home for this emotionally wounded child. Furthermore, if I only would satisfy this child's need for attention, his need for love and affection then everything would be OK AND his ADHD would very nicely disappear. Of course, Mate does not back up his opinions with facts other than his own childhood stories. No, I don't buy it, and I will not keep this ADHD book on my shelf.

If you want a great book on how to help you work with, and parent an ADHD child read Barkley's Taking Charge of ADHD book.

Merlin:"The best thing for being sad is to learn something." 2002-02-12
Having been in therapy longer than Woody Allen, I practice what Karl Menninger called `bibliotherapy'-i.e., reading widely and deeply in the field of mental or emotional disorders. Since I'm a voracious reader, and since I've been doing this for twenty years, I sometimes feel there isn't much left for a layman to learn, or at least nothing much that could be called new. But Dr. Mate's book is wonderfully helpful on two fronts: first, it is a "why-you-or-your -child-are-like-this" book, and second, it is a "and-here-is-what-you-can-do-to-allieviate-the-condition"book. Not cure it, mind you, just make the cards you drew a little easier to play.

On the first front, the neurobiology of ADD, Dr. Mate makes his point conclusively: this disorder arises first in the infant, in how he or she is wired-or not-and it occurs in the make-up of the hypersensitive baby, highly aware and from the very beginning suffering at the smallest slings and arrows life offers. Resilient children roll with the punches; ADD kids are flattened by them and get back up more slowly. Momma used to call this type "high-strung" and, boy, was she ever right. Dr. Mate even points out a study done on the vagus nerve of five-month old babies that turns out to be highly predictive of which of them will later, at fourteen months, prove to be "more reactive to maternal separation." In other words, ADD could as well serve as an acronym for Attachment Deficit Disorder. People who are hypersensitive have a disordered attachment to their caretakers that is pre-verbal and pervasive. One had better learn to deal with the fact that the fault is mainly synpatical, not social. My family doctor told me that my then-nine-year-old son suffered from severe separation anxiety because he hadn't been in pre-school or away from his parents enough. Fortunately, a more knowledgeable child psychiatrist said it was inborn so we could relax and quit blaming ourselves. Whew....

That doesn't mean that experiencing this hypersensitivity isn't damaging, even with a more-than-good-enough mother. Or that nurturing a hypersensitive child is easy. It is much more tiring and trying to deal with the ADD child than it is with his or her more resilient sibling.The ADD child triggers anxiety in even the most competent parent. So, it is on the second front, the practical things to do, that this book is most helpful, even hopeful. I return to it again and again (that is, when I haven't mislaid it in one of my more driven ADD moments) to remind myself what to do and what not to do to help myself and my similarly-wired son. For instance, the section on the counter-will-an idea I'd not heard before-made me understand why I am more often than not so suspicious of authority figures. I used to think it was very adolescent of me, and now Dr. Mate tells me it is, and that this is a component of ADD. It was from this notion of a counter-will that I began my search on ways to strengthen the will itself, so as to disengage this adversarial part of me, the counter-will, that aspect of us that doesn't trust. It has been an interesting and fruitful search and I am grateful to Dr. Mate for giving me new ways to think about this way of being in the world.

By the time the ADD child arrives at school, the disconnectedness is ingrained. We are attuned to every slight, intended or not. Other kids find ADDers just as trying as the grown-ups do-it takes a lot of energy to interact with a `wild child' who hogs the teacher's attention or a distracted one whose hypersensitivity presents the perfect opportunity to torture for fun and profit. I've yet to find an ADD adult who liked the social aspects of school, or didn't have horror stories about cruel peers and teachers...

The most important chapters for me have been the ones on medication and on self-parenting. The first, medication, gives the limits of pharmocological help for this disorder. It is very clear about what medicine can and cannot do and the importance of finding a knowledgeable physician. The second, self-parenting, seems like a Mobius strip until Dr. Mate takes apart the results of life-time conditioning and explains the qualities one needs-compassion for self and others, curiosity rather than blame or judgment-in order to embark on a course of change. Whether one has to structure things by herself, or has the good fortune to find competent professional help, Dr. Mate's book is of inestimable help on that journey.

In fact, every time my ADD tendencies pop up and I lose my copy of Scattered, I buy another. And now that my stepson has been diagnosed with ADD, I have an extra copy or two to give his suffering parents, though I would not be without this book.

Scattered is definitely a keeper.

Spellbinding and insightful 2007-05-07
Being both a doctor and having ADHD I found this book both informative and insightful. The concepts of both nature and nurture are seemlessly interwoven to provide an excellent perspective on causality as well as direction for treatment.

Having a past personal interest in child psychology lent me familiarity to many of the concepts the author brought forth in his book. If his ideas seem 'cooked up' you are mistaken. The author is quoting cornerstone teachings of well known developmental psychologists.

One must realize that research into ADHD is still evolving. Whether or not causality can be determined in each specific case, it does not detract from the author's direction in treatment (whether through family therapy, psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy). More specifically, ADHD may in fact arise in 'functional families' but the requirement for ongoing support/'unconditional positive regard' remains pivotal.

But one should realize this is not a 'How to Book' nor a brief synopsis. With all that aside...... an eloquent book which made me laugh, cry and take heart.

Scattered 2007-01-12
This is the first book on the subject that explains some of the newest research regarding ADD. The author, despite being a doctor, writes with the individual affected by the disorder in mind. It's easy to understand and finally gives the ADD person some real insight and background on the origin of the disorder. His personal experiences including his family history help the reader see a full picture of the affects of ADD.
This book should be a must read for any person newly diagnosed or affected by someone close to them affected.

Mesmerizing and insightful 2006-01-17
Five years ago, I picked up this book and, mesmerized, read it in one sitting. With content so rich and insightful, I felt perhaps I should stop and absorb each chapter before continuing. Yet Mate's elegant writing was too captivating and flowing to put down.

Today, it is the book in my extensive ADHD library that I turn to when I need reminding of some core concepts, such as "counterwill," Mate's term for oppositional defiance. So many other books about ADHD float on the surface or focus on medical treatment options. While I would be the last person to minimize the importance of medication -- I've seen in too many people medication's dramatic effects and their immense gratitude -- there is so much more to understanding ADHD.

For example, here is an excerpt on Counterwill:
"Children with attention deficit disorder are often characterized as stubborn, oppositional, cheeky, insolent, spoiled. "Wilful" is a description almost universally applied to them.... ADD children can hardly be said to have a will at all, if by that is meant a capacity which enables a person to know what he wants and to hold to that goal regardless of setbacks, difficulties, or distracting impulses....

"...Counterwill is an automatic resistance put up by a human being with an incompletely developed sense of self, a reflexive and unthinking going against the will of the other. It is a natural but immature resistance arising from the fear of being controlled. Counterwill arises in anyone who has not yet developed a mature and conscious will of their own. Although it can remain active throughout life, normally it makes its most dramatic appearance during the toddler phase, and again in adolescence. In many people, and in the vast majority of children with ADD, it becomes entrenched as an ever-present force and may remain powerfully active well into adulthood. It immensely complicates personal relationships, school performance, and job or career success."

[...]

Passages such as that completely unlocked the door to understanding for me. When it comes to ADHD, I've learned, what's "obvious" on the surface seldom holds water under close scrutiny. Despite having read dozens of books and articles on ADHD, I've not seen this perception on counterwill expressed and yet, from my observation, it is bedrock truth. And, it is only one of the profound concepts Dr. Mate exlains.

As for the nature/nurture issue, we know so little about genetic expression. Last time I looked, at least 7 genes, in various combinations and subsets, are thought contributory to ADHD. Perhaps it will be 10-20 years or more before we understand this highly heritable condition. I do know many mothers of children with ADHD who say that, even in utero, the child was clearly hyperactive. Some cases are less clear-cut. There are no hard and fast answers here.

That said, recent genetic studies reinforce Dr. Mate's theories, showing that the presence of a "behavior"-related gene does not guarantee its expression. For example, the recently discovered "shyness" gene seems to express in children who have it only under stressful conditions. (You can read more about this in a Jan 2006 Wall Street Journal's "Science Journal" column.) The idea is not to make parents feel guilty, as some have suggested, but to expand our knowledge and help future generations of children as much as possible. For instance, the epigenetic factors are good reason to encourage parents of children with ADHD to undergo screening for ADHD themselves. Studies have shown the often deleterious effect of living with a parent's untreated ADHD.

Interesting Thesis, But Not Helpful 2006-01-11
Dr. Mate provides an interesting thesis, but it just doesn't ring true. We have counseled thousands of children with ADHD, including hundreds which came from stable, two-parent homes where the parents were very in tune with their child.

Parents don't need this guilt trip. What they do need are practical solutions and steps to cultivate their child's natural gifts, talents and passions. This is what breeds confidence.

We use Kirk Martin' Celebrate!ADHD paradigm in our practice, and it has worked wonderfully for both parents and children. Kirk Martin has been called the "ADHD Super Nanny" and we'd recommend his E-Courses and Book, "Celebrate!ADHD" before you read "Scattered." You can find free tips and a newsletter at the celebrateADHD website.

It's difficult to endorse Dr. Mate's work when his underlying premise has so many flaws.

Maybe the most original book about ADD & most ignored 2004-10-27
Mate offers a very fresh, insightful interpretation of ADD as a cognitive vulnerability that may or may not manifest itself, or manifest itself in varying degrees depending on one's environment. In this sense, the book takes a ecological approach to the problem; ADD, according to the author, is not biological determinism and it's not cultural construct and it's not some conspiracy to keep certain children in their place and it's not a pharmaceutical ploy for more business. Anyone who has taken prescribed Ritalin knows it's about the cheapest prescription drug on the market (and has been around nearly the longest). The author simply points out that according to current and provisional informed research (and research can only be provisional unless we can stop time), the idea that symptoms of ADD are a result of many forces--chemical, environmental, cultural, and developmental--just makes sense. Since Mate's analysis is moderately complex in comparison to most analyses in most popular ADD books, it may turn off those who want a quick pat explanation to the "disorder." The author is a doctor with ADD; so his analysis is both research oriented and phenomenological. He is also smart enough not to use the word "prove" in his book because he knows he isn't proving anything: he is simply making his own best inferences based on current knowledge. He makes sense; and he adds to the current literature on the subject. If you have been diagnosed with ADD, you will nod your head in agreement through much of the book. The author also has a gift for writing, having been a former English teacher. Thus, his language is on a level of sophistication which does justice to the subject, and lends his observations authority. This is far different from the "cookbook" breezy style of so many other authors who address the subject.