Kids in the Syndrome Mix of ADHD, LD, Asperger’s, Tourette’s, Bipolar, and More!

Kids in the Syndrome Mix of ADHD, LD, Asperger’s, Tourette’s, Bipolar, and More!
Martin Kutscher,
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN 9781843108115,
£12.99

Star rating: 1/5

Call me old-fashioned, but I have always felt uneasy about professionals who refer to children as “kids”, writes Dr Michael Fitzpatrick.

The reservations aroused by this book’s patronising title are confirmed by its introduction which promises “an informal distillation of crux material in a realistic but upbeat format”. I find myself wanting to escape from this “one-stop guide” before reaching chapter one.

And, call me pernickety, but the notion of a “syndrome mix” that includes every childhood problem from autism to central auditory processing disorder suggests muddled thinking about diagnosis that is likely to lead to a lack of clarity in terms of intervention.

In his “general principles of treatment” (“Read this ­chapter!”), Dr Kutscher, a ­paediatric neurologist in New York, urges the reader to “adjust your mindset”, “keep it positive”, and “keep it calm” – advice of infuriating banality.

Although his general advice is not specific enough to be helpful to parents, his advice on specific interventions is too schematic to be useful to professionals.

Dr Michael Fitzpatrick is a GP, author of MMR and Autism: What Parents Need to Know and a columnist for Community Care