Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight

By Sharon Heller, PhD

Ok ladies! I have really been slacking when it comes to writing book reviews. I have been reading but I have not been reviewing. Not sure why. I am going to try to do better with this. Reading is so very important – not just in your understanding of the ADD/ADHD diagnosis, but also to your brain functioning. I’ll go off on that tangent later…

I first heard about this book while reading Terry Matlen’s Queen of Distraction, which I reviewed here.

I will use the same format for this review.

3 things I like about this book:

I love that this book has a self check included right at the beginning. After my son’s diagnosis I had started to wonder if I had some sensory issues myself. Dr. Heller describes sensory issues as, “a constellation of symptoms, including tension, anxiety, avoidance, stress, anger, and even violence, that result from aversion or defensive reactions to what most people consider nonirritating stimulate.”

Umm yeah, aside from the violent tendencies this fits me to a T.

I love that this book is written by a woman, about women and for women. The examples given almost all involve women. As I read some of the profiles in the book I could certainly identify with their stories. I have never been comfortable with hugging. In this book, I learned that my resistance to physical displays like this is not just me being “weird”; it is a symptom of something real.

This book is written with a vocabulary and fluency that anyone can follow. You do not have to be a scholar to understand what you read. Even the more sciency parts of the book relating to sensory processing development in children, are easy to follow.

3 Things I don’t like as much

There is a part of this book called the Sensory Diet. I was hoping this would include information on nutrition – or things you could try to alleviate some of these symptoms. It was actually more like a list of ways to stimulate your senses and be your own occupational therapist. It was good info, but I was disappointed.

There was a short section on the connection between food allergies, inflammation and things like leaky gut and related conditions. This was pretty interesting to me, but again I wanted to see some nutritional ideas. Dr. Heller did emphasize some specific herbs and supplements that could be helpful.

I don’t have a third!

I really like this book. I felt like she got me as a sensory defensive and ADHD woman. It seems like Dr. Heller should be friends with Dr. Maltin. Maybe they are friends?

I would say this is worth the read. Particularly if you feel like you might be a little sensory defensive, or your child might be. It is a real eye opener.

Here is the Amazon link if you are interested in buying to support this site.