Comic Books ADHD Children Will Love to Read (and Learn from, Too)

My attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) daughter Natalie burst through the front door after school on a recent afternoon, threw off her backpack, and blew into the kitchen. Her eyes locked in on the kitchen table. A box had arrived in the mail. Pouncing on it, she read the mailing label. “No fair! It’s for you! You get everything! I never get mail!” (And a good afternoon to you, too, little girl!)

“You’re right -- it’s addressed to me. But I think it’s really for you,” I said.

“Can I open it?” Nat picked up a paring knife I’d used to slice apples, and started to dig in. Whoa! My afternoon went from touring speed to an all-out race against ADD/ADHD in seconds!

I intervened, and slit the box open, successfully avoiding the need for Band-Aids. Soon Nat was lobbing handfuls of brown paper packing material over her shoulder, and pulling out the prize: four shiny new comic books! “These are for me? Really? I can keep them?”

The books in questions are the first four in the “Out of This World” series, written by Jon Filitti, and illustrated by Eric Erbes. Filitti, a master’s level therapist, created the books as a fun and effective vehicle for teaching social skills to kids with ADD/ADHD and other mental health conditions. Dubbed “A Comic Book and Activity Guidance Series for Kids," the “Out of This World” books cover the topics their titles suggest: Face to Fade With X-35: The Power of Anger Management!, Tiglos vs. Secca Ma: The Courage to Stop a Bully, The Importance of Concentration! Hey Max...Pay Attention!, and Victory Through Motivation! Max Strives for Success!

My ADD/ADHD Daughter's Review of the "Out of This World" Comic Books

Natalie loves comic books. She learned about "Garfield" from her peers at school, and likes to read the comics in the Sunday newspaper. The comics in the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series are one of her favorites. And, although it took about a week for Natalie to calm down enough to take notice of this latest batch of comic books’ content, once she looked inside, she was hooked. Blended throughout each storyline are kid-friendly activities to extend learning and add to the fun: word searches, mazes, drawing and writing prompts, and secret codes to decipher. Natalie dug in to work on a maze right away. The books became prized possessions, with Natalie taking them to her friend Harry’s house (who also happens to have ADD/ADHD) to claim bragging rights, and to school to show them off to her special ed teacher Mrs. Carter.

My Review of the "Out of This World" Comic Books

I read the series all the way through one night while Nat was in tae kwon do class, and concluded that they’re really pretty cool! As a parent, I appreciate the specific and easy-to-implement skills and strategies introduced in the books, and how Filitti weaves them naturally into the stories.

Author Filitti, a licensed mental health counselor, practices at Crossroads Counseling Center in Dubuque, Iowa, working mostly with adolescents and their families. The series is recommended for kids ages eight and up. For more information, visit the series’ website. Plus, check out a preview of the first issue.

Does your ADHD child love receiving mail? If you enter our latest giveaway, a box just might arrive in your mail!

Contest Rules: For a chance to win a set of all four books in the "Out of This World series" leave a comment below that answers the following question: If your child with ADD/ADHD (or a child you know) was a comic book character, what character would she be? (Natalie would be Spider Woman, because of her love of climbing on anything and everything and swinging from webs (ropes).) Now it’s your turn! Good luck! Two lucky commenters will be chosen at random to receive the free books. All comments must be posted by 5 p.m. EDT on April 28, 2010.