Living Well with Adult ADHD Practical Strategies for Improving Your Daily Life

by Knouse, Laura E.; Barkley, Russell A.

• ISBN13: 9781462555123
• ISBN10: 1462555128
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-10-02
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

Imagine a toolkit filled with tried-and-true skills that empower adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to be more focused and productive--and to "hack" daily life so their strengths can shine. That's exactly what expert ADHD therapist Laura E. Knouse and preeminent authority Russell A. Barkley offer readers in this friendly guide. Twenty-seven short, engaging chapters present a menu of science-based strategies and resources for getting organized, completing tasks from start to finish, managing time, regulating emotions and impulses, and addressing common relationship problems associated with ADHD. Featuring checklists, self-coaching tips, helpful links, and downloadable forms, this quick-reference guide is an ideal companion to Dr. Barkley's bestselling Taking Charge of Adult ADHD, Second Edition, which takes a deeper dive into the disorder and its treatment.

Author Biography

Laura E. Knouse, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Richmond. She is an expert in studying and treating ADHD in adults. Her research focuses on the skills people need to cope with ADHD symptoms and achieve their goals--and the most effective ways to teach them. Dr. Knouse lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and two children. 

Russell A. Barkley, PhD, ABPP, ABCN, before retiring in 2021, served on the faculties of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, the Medical University of South Carolina, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Barkley has worked with children, adolescents, and families since the 1970s and is the author of numerous bestselling books for both professionals and the public, including Taking Charge of ADHD and Your Defiant Child. He has also published six assessment scales and more than 300 scientific articles and book chapters on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, executive functioning, and childhood defiance. A frequent conference presenter and speaker who is widely cited in the national media, Dr. Barkley is past president of the Section on Clinical Child Psychology (the former Division 12) of the American Psychological Association (APA), and of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. He is a recipient of awards from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the APA, among other honors. His website is www.russellbarkley.org.

 

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Choose How to Use This Book
I. Your ADHD Toolbox
1. Tools for Organizing Time and Tasks
2. Tools for Starting, Stopping, and Finishing
3. Tools for Emotions and Relationships
II. Menu of Moves for Living Well
4. Show Up on Time
5. Remember and Remember to Do Things
6. Keep Track of Your Stuff
7. Plan and Prioritize
8. Complete Tasks Accurately
9. Get Started and Restarted
10. Stick with It and Wrap Up
11. Switch Gears When You Need To
12. Keep Your Commitments to Others
13. Absorb Information
14. Manage Restlessness
15. Manage the Urge to Act Out When You’re Upset
16. Make Thoughtful Decisions
17. Reduce the Impact of ADHD on Your Relationships
18. Organize Stuff and Space
19. Find Your Fit at Work or School
20. Eat Well
21. Sleep Well
22. Watch Your Substance Use
23. Move Your Body
24. Manage Money
25. Drive Safely
III. Principles for Living Well with ADHD
26. What Are Your Whys?
27. Principles for Living Well with ADHD
Resources
Index