Craig Surman - Fast Minds: How to Thrive If You Have ADHD

Most Berkley Books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. Special books, or book excerpts, can also be created to fit specific needs.

For details, write: Special Markets, The Berkley Publishing Group, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

How to Thrive If You
Have ADHD
(Or Think You Might)

Craig Surman, M. D.
Tim Bilkey, M. D.

with Karen Weintraub

BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa), Rosebank Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North 2193, South Africa Penguin China, B7 Jiaming Center, 27 East Third Ring Road North, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, China

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

Copyright 2013 by Harvard University.

Interior text design by Tiffany Estreicher.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

BERKLEY is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

The B design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

FIRST EDITION : February 2013

eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-61933-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Surman, Craig.

Fast minds: how to thrive if you have ADHD (or think you might) / by Craig Surman, M.D., and Tim Bilkey, M.D., with Karen Weintraub. First edition.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN: 978-0-425-25283-3

1. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorderPopular works. 2. Life skillsPopular works.

I. Bilkey, Tim. II. Weintraub, Karen. III. Title.

RC394.A85S87 2013

616.8589dc23 2012040937

PUBLISHERS NOTE: Neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.

To my parents, Lezlie Anne Humber Surman, R.N.,
and Owen Stanley Surman, M.D., who gave me the chance
to thrive and taught me the power of empathy.
CS

To Holli, who provides immeasurable support and
creativity in all of our projects; and our son, Geordie, who
was and is our inspiration for writing this book.
TB

To Rita, whose challenges and humor kept it real, and to
my family, who can now have their dining room table back.
KW

To the many people who have entrusted us with
their personal stories, and taught us the principles
we convey in the pages that follow.
CS, TB, AND KW

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A book is always the work of many more people than are named on its cover. In this case, a few people have provided particularly invaluable assistance, including Dr. Julie Silver, our editor at Harvard Health Publications; Denise Silvestro, our editor at The Berkley Publishing Group; Linda Konner, our agent; David Emslie, Dr. Bilkeys research and communications officer; and Holli Bilkey, who both supported FAST MINDS every step of the way. Geordie Bilkey provided extensive input and critique.

Thanks, too, to our publicist Leslie Wolfe Arista, and the staff at The Berkley Publishing Group and Harvard Health Publications, including Natalie Ramm and Meredith Giordan, as well as graphic artist Scott Leighton.

This book is also deeply indebted to the collective work of professionals who pioneered the understanding and treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in adults. We are grateful to these pioneers and to the many colleagues and mentors who trained us and have collaborated with us. In particular, we are indebted to the staff and resources of the Massachusetts General Hospital Clinical and Research Program in ADHD.

Finally, we want to thank our families, whose constant support made this book possible, and the people who opened up their lives to us so we could adapt and tell their stories herewithout identifying their real identities.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

M y name is Howie Mandel and I am an actor and comedian. But what you may not know is that I also suffer from Adult ADHD. Im sure I had it as a child but I was not diagnosed until I was an adult. I got into trouble in school due to my ADHD impulsive behavior. At that time, I had no idea I had this disorder.

As I became an adult, I sought out help and for treatment of this condition, and was diagnosed with ADHD. I am trying to bring awareness to adults that ADHD is real for them, although many do not believe it is a true disorder. Throughout my life, it has been very difficult for me to sit down and read a book or concentrate during normal conversation. I was even thrown out of school for acting on my impulses and as a result did not continue my education. It was too difficult to control my behavior. Some people say ADHD is a gift, and I say if it is, Id like to return it, even with all my success in show business. What I am trying to do is bring awareness to this condition so that people will not be afraid to go for help as soon as they feel they have any symptoms.

My advice to anybody who thinks that they have ADHD is to have their doctor find a specialist and go for help. Medication is not the end all and be all, but it can help. So can coaching and or therapy.

Howie Mandel

INTRODUCTION

S o youve picked up this book called FAST MINDS. It caught your eye; you are curious about what this is. FAST MINDS is an acronym that we use to identify a medical condition that weve known about for more than one hundred years. About 4 percent of adults may have this conditionand many who dont have the full condition have many of its traits.

FAST MINDS stands for:

Forgetful

Achieving below potential

S