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Back to Normal
- Why Ordinary Childhood Behavior Is Mistaken for ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Narrated by: Matthew Kugler
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
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Back to Normal
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Summary
A veteran clinical psychologist exposes why doctors, teachers, and parents incorrectly diagnose healthy American children with serious psychiatric conditions.
<.p>In recent years there has been an alarming rise in the number of American children and youth assigned a mental health diagnosis. Current data from the Centers for Disease Control reveal a 41 percent increase in rates of ADHD diagnoses over the past decade and a forty-fold spike in bipolar disorder diagnoses. Similarly, diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder has increased by 78 percent since 2002.Dr. Enrico Gnaulati, a clinical psychologist specializing in childhood and adolescent therapy and assessment, has witnessed firsthand the push to diagnose these disorders in youngsters. Drawing both on his own clinical experience and on cutting-edge research, with Back to Normal he has written the definitive account of why our kids are being dramatically overdiagnosed - and how parents and professionals can distinguish between true psychiatric disorders and normal childhood reactions to stressful life situations.
Gnaulati begins with the complex web of factors that have led to our current crisis. These include questionable education and training practices that cloud mental health professionals' ability to distinguish normal from abnormal behavior in children, monetary incentives favoring prescriptions, check-list diagnosing, and high-stakes testing in schools. We've also developed an increasingly casual attitude about labeling kids and putting them on psychiatric drugs.
So how do we differentiate between a child with, say, Asperger's syndrome and a child who is simply introverted, brainy, and single-minded? As Gnaulati notes, many of the symptoms associated with these disorders are similar to everyday childhood behaviors. In the second half of the book Gnaulati tells detailed stories of wrongly diagnosed kids, providing parents and others with information about the developmental, temperamental, and environmentally driven symptoms that to a casual or untrained eye can mimic a psychiatric disorder.
These stories also reveal how nonmedical interventions, whether in the therapist's office or through changes made at home, can help children.
Back to Normal reminds us of the normalcy of children's seemingly abnormal behavior. It will give parents of struggling children hope, perspective, and direction. And it will make everyone who deals with children question the changes in our society that have contributed to the astonishing increase in childhood psychiatric diagnoses.
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Editor reviews
Narrator Matthew Kugler will remind listeners of the friendly guy next door, and his frank, unrushed performance helps hammer home Dr. Enrico Gnaulati's startling assertion that doctors, teachers, and parents have been incorrectly diagnosing healthy American children with serious psychological disorders. A clinical psychologist specializing in childhood and adolescent therapy and assessment, Dr. Gnaulati reveals how normal childhood behavior can appear to be a symptom of a mental disorder to the untrained eye. This audiobook gives a much-needed sense of perspective and direction to anyone who regularly interacts with children.
What listeners say about Back to Normal
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rahul Mathur
- 13-07-14
Very good book to read for parents
very good book for parents who are visiting speech therapist, psychologist, developmental paediatrician, speech therapist etc... helps understand their inventive and make an informed decision
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Zoe
- 27-03-14
Broad and clearly explained
Where does Back to Normal rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Excellent. The reader speaks with a natural fluency that makes it very easy to listen to and concentrate on. The content was clearly explained, well categorised and full of examples to make it 'come alive'. This is a book I would have really struggled to read and concentrate on but I very much wanted to read. Having it in Audio format is wonderful. I feel I have hung on every word and learned a lot.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Back to Normal?
Many. Too many to mention. Mostly that I could understand behaviours and features of my own clients, clients from the past, and my own children and my own childhood behaviours as he described clinical features.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Ruth R.
- 19-12-21
Inaccurate science
As a professional that works in an autism diagnostic team, I feel the science presented in this book as inaccurate and completely misrepresenting the field. This is not a balanced discussion at all, and it risks causing harm from disinformation. It is also written very much from the perspective of someone who is middle class and seems detached from the reality and the need for a diagnosis for some individuals and families, where this is needed to access services and support.
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1 person found this helpful