Willie: Raising and Loving a Child with Attention Deficit Disorder

A former editor of McCall's magazine and mother of two comforts other parents of children whose only constant is their unpredictability. Her son Willie, born in 1989, is alternately bouncy and distant, gifted and obnoxious. Colin kept a journal of his early life, in which she noted that Willie ""never stays within the lines."" He also gets kicked out of nursery school, only to learn, with the help of resources including Ritalin, therapy, parental perseverance and ""shadows"" (companions at school), how to work with others and how to be safe on the street unattended. This book excels as practical advice to parents of potential ADD children by showing how to take vacations anyway and how to wade through the ADD establishment. With up to 10% of school-age American children possibly affected by the condition, this book will be a valuable diagnostic tool for parents who fear both ADD and those who over-diagnose it. (Feb.)