Making ADHD a Gift explains, in everyday language, what ADHD is, how it is diagnosed, and how this condition can affect people throughout their lifetime. It also outlines methods of developing and assessing teaching strategies that can help individuals with ADHD both at home and at school. Unlike other texts, this book takes a positive look at having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Rather than trying to repress the characteristics of ADHD, Making ADHD a Gift advocates that individuals with ADHD use their disorder to maximize attention span, improve social skills, harness impulsivity, and turn hyperactivity into periods of extreme productivity. In addition to providing teaching strategies and accommodations for ADHD students, the book also examines issues unique to children, adolescents, and adults who have been diagnosed with this disorder. Methods are described to help adolescents with ADHD cope with the associated problems of depression and substance abuse, and to help adults manage the marital and employment difficulties that often accompany ADHD. There is additional helpful information about the benefits and side effects of medication, cultural factors that could cause misdiagnoses, forming support groups, and resources for parents and teachers of ADHD students.