Fire child, water child : how understanding the five types of ADHD can help you improve your child's self-esteem and attention

In his years working with children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), pediatrician Stephen Scott Cowan has discovered that what helps one child focus his or her attention may not benefit another.

There are five distinct ways children focus, presented for the first time in Fire Child, Water Child.

This guide to parenting children with ADHD helps parents identify their child's focusing style-fire, metal, water, wood, or earth-and use the appropriate skills and parenting techniques to reduce ADHD symptoms.

For example, while children with metal focusing styles thrive with rules, regulation, and structure, and like knowing what is going to happen next, "fire" children seek explosive excitement and adventure.

This guide offers practical skills and activities parents can use with each of the five adaptive ADHD types to help their children tap into their innate ability to develop calm focus.

The author also discusses medication and other adjunctive treatments parents can use to supplement the five adaptive phase model in this book.