10 Books That Every Parent Should Read

Parenting a child with ADHD or a learning disability can be overwhelming at times, but with the right tips, tricks, and insider knowledge, it doesn’t have to be. We’ve gathered together a list of the best ADHD parenting books for understanding and managing your child. With the right help, you can put your child on the path to being healthy, happy, and in charge of their ADHD or LD.

Children with ADHD don’t always respond to traditional discipline and parenting methods, and difficult symptoms can make whole families feel like they’re at the end of their rope. In this straightforward book — now in its third edition — Dr. Russell Barkley offers an 8-step plan for proven parenting. Inside, you’ll learn how to use positive attention, effective incentives, and calm consistency to manage ADHD symptoms — and reconnect with your child.

Buy Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents (#CommissionsEarned)

Understanding why our kids need to chew gum while practicing piano or squish a stress ball while working on homework makes a big difference in establishing realistic expectations, rewarding positive behavior, and advocating on our kids' behalf. Cindy Goldrich's 8 Keys to Parenting Children with ADHD focuses on developing and strengthening effective interpersonal skills in both parents and children as a way to improve conflict resolution, reduce chaos, and build self-esteem. It's an invaluable resource; after all, the more informed we are as parents, the more support and understanding our kids will receive!

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[Get This Free Download: The All-Time Best Books on ADHD]

Children with learning difficulties — like ADHD, dyslexia, or sensory processing disorder — struggle to explain what’s going on in their head, and why they feel “different” from their peers. In The Misunderstood Child, Dr. Larry Silver starts to explain what these “atypical” children might be feeling — from the genetics of learning disabilities to the most recent neurological research behind his claims. Armed with this timely resource, parents can work to understand their child’s difficulties and become effective advocates for them, in school and in life.

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In Ross Greene's excellent book, The Explosive Child, he introduces a paradigm for understanding children with ADHD, sensory processing challenges, oppositional defiant disorder, and similar conditions: When children misbehave, it's often because the demands of the situation exceed what they are developmentally able to handle. To help these "inflexible" kids, Greene developed Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS), a parenting method in which parents and kids solve problems together. The book is easy to follow and the system straightforward to implement; many parents who struggled with their child's defiance describe Greene's book as a "lifesaver," providing hope when they were at the end of their parenting rope.

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Rather than dictate strict discipline instructions for parents of children with ADHD, Dr. Sharon Saline’s affirming book focuses on becoming an empathetic communicator. She provides insights into the minds and feelings of children with ADHD, and offers guidance for interpreting kids’ verbal and behavioral communication. What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew promotes and powers parent-child collaboration designed to enhance cooperation, closeness, and productivity. Dr. Saline’s book provides a roadmap for reducing family stress and improving loving connections.

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Sensory processing disorder (SPD) manifests in many small, sometimes maddening ways. Itchy tags may be unbearable. Loud music intolerable. Perfume simply sickening. Whatever the symptoms, SPD makes it difficult to interact with your daily environment, which impacts how you relate to others, study and learn, participate in sports and group activities, and follow your dreams. In The Out-of-Sync Child, Carol Stock Kranowitz offers first-person accounts of life with SPD, outlines concrete strategies for teachers, parents, and children to implement together, and provides a unique perspective: that SPD might in fact be a gift.

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[8 Perfect Books for Reluctant Readers (Even Yours!)]

This comprehensive resource outlines the IEP process step-by-step, from the initial testing to annual checkups. It includes valuable worksheets, checklists, and sample forms for parents or teachers to use, making the special education process easier for everyone involved and ensuring children get the best help possible. The newly revised second edition includes up-to-date coverage on testing procedures, autism spectrum disorder, and more.

Buy The Complete Guide to Special Education (#CommissionsEarned)

Guare and Dawson, mental health experts who work with special-needs students, give step-by-step strategies to promote your teen’s independence by building executive skills: brain-based abilities needed to get organized, stay focused, and control impulses. The book’s plan — assessing a teen’s executive skills, using conflict-free tips to bolster them, and knowing when to fade your supervision before they rebel — is clear and motivational.

Buy Smart but Scattered Teens (#CommissionsEarned)

Brown presents a new, broader definition of ADHD, which recognizes executive function impairments as the true underpinnings of the disorder, and demonstrates how this “new understanding” is more accurate than the symptoms-driven diagnostic criteria in the DSM-V. Brown’s book is relevant for both adults with ADHD and parents of kids with ADHD. He busts myths about the condition, addresses new causes and treatments, and makes it easy for a layperson to understand new ADHD research.

Buy A New Understanding of ADHD in Children and Adults (#CommissionsEarned)

Author Ben Foss uses easy-to-apply analogies, his own life experiences with dyslexia, and many tools to help parents empower kids with dyslexia and other LDs to maximize their learning, feel confident, and become advocates for themselves. Foss challenges traditional beliefs about reading and learning. His paradigm may seem revolutionary, but most of his suggestions are just plain common sense.

Buy The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan (#CommissionsEarned)

Parenting Books about ADHD: Next Steps

• Read: Turn the Page — 10 Great Books About ADHD
• Download: The ADHD Library for Parents
• Discover: Introducing Easy to Love but Hard to Raise
  

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