Praise for an ADHD Babysitter's Guide

The copy of ADDitude’s babysitter’s guide, ADDventures in Babysitting, which I ordered last week, was waiting in our mailbox when we arrived home from vacation on Tuesday. Fast service!

I read it through — and I LOVE it! It does what ADDitude does best — summarizes information in a precise, easy-to-read, easy-to-apply format. I learned a lot that I didn’t know about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and, in addition to sharing it with new babysitters, I plan to share it with a variety of others — teachers, service providers, family, parents of Natalie’s friends.

It provides a great outline for me to use in creating my own orientation materials for new babysitters for my ADHD child. I’m picturing personalizing each section by describing Natalie’s symptoms and behaviors.

It also gave me ideas for questions to ask when I interview potential new caregivers. It warns parents not to leave ADHD kids with babysitters — or relatives — who don’t “believe in” ADHD. Since that turned out to be an issue with the Exorcist I’ll certainly come up with a few interview questions about ADHD and the use of ADHD medication to try and uncover any preconceived notions that potential caregivers might have about the disorder.

Whew! What a relief! What a great resource. I highly recommend it.