All Dogs Have ADHD

Kathy Hoopman (author)

Footprint Books, Australia: 2009

ISBN: 9781843106517

Genres: information text, picture book, non-fiction

Issues: differences, tolerance, giftedness, values

Following the pattern of the highly successful All Cats Have Asperger's Syndrome, Hoopman uses another much-loved animal to introduce readers to an equally significant learning problem.

Perhaps slightly more self-conscious and contrived than All Cats Have Asperger's Syndrome, All Dogs Have ADHD is nonetheless an extremely useful and appealing text. Any teacher or parent who has struggled to be patient and understanding with an ADHD individual will welcome this concise, compassionate and often comical summary of ADHD characteristics.

Hoopman is careful to emphasise the potential of an ADHD person, reminding the reader that while a person's greatest strengths can be their greatest weaknesses, the reverse can also apply. The fact that ADHD is really an exaggeration of many ‘normal' characteristics - impatient, easily bored or distracted, untidy, disorganized, impulsive and unconventional - is made clear and will hopefully encourage readers to be more accepting of all the square pegs in round holes, not just those with ADHD.

As with All Cats, All Dogs is a useful text to help an ADHD child's class, family or friends understand them better.