Raised on Ritalin // Chapter 1

**UPDATE 3/22/12**

My official book proposal for Raised on Ritalin is finished and in the hands of my agent. She is now in the process of shopping it around to publishers. During this time I am continuing work on the book, but probably won't publish more of it to this site, at least until there is more in a "final" form. For right now I'm only working out rough drafts of each chapter. Once we've sold the book and I've had the chance to have some editorial discussions and guidance, I'll update here with what I know.

I want to thank everyone who has emailed or commented about this work so far. The outpouring of support has been terrific! I share your desire and enthusiasm to see this as a finished book and I'm happy to say that will happen one way or another.

Stay tuned, and if this is your first time here, read on and know there will be more to come!

tyler.

Chapter 2 -->

Here is chapter 1 of what I'm planning on being a full-length book, where I will use my experiences with ADD and Ritalin to look at the disorder and its treatment from many angles.

I'm working on this during my spare time so it will probably be slow going with updates. I've already got the second chapter written and have started laying it out. I wanted to get this online right away so I could get some feedback, but once I've gotten a few chapters finished I'm planning to shop it around for publication as a book as well.

So far my rough outline looks like this:

-chapter 1: Introduction

-chapter 2: ADD/AHDH - definition and diagnostic criteria

-chapter 3: Ritalin and other meds

-chapter 4: DSM - examine the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual, its evolution, influence on modern psychiatry, and how disorders come to be defined

-chapter 5: ADD today - look at where the disorder is today, how it is defined, who's being diagnosed, the 'epidemic' of diagnoses over the last 10-15 years, medications (and their history, development, treatment value) and other possible treatments, and progress in determining the disorder's origins and what it exactly "is."

-chapter 6: living with ADD - how ADD informs who a person is who has it and pervades all aspects of their life: relationships, family, work, etc.

-chapter 6: the future

I welcome your comments, thoughts, suggestions, and stories of your own experiences with ADD. Also, PLEASE share and pass this around!

tyler.

Raised on Ritalin // Chapter 2

<--Chapter 1     Chapter 3-->

So here is Chapter 2! I want to thank everyone for the huge and amazing response to chapter 1 and the idea of the book so far. I've heard from so many people, with and without ADD, who have been so supportive that it's really encouraged me in continuing work on the book and ultimately seeking a publisher. Once I've got 3-4 chapters in the can I'll start actively querying agents and publishers.

You'll have noticed a lot of text in this chapter. People's responses to the medical records in chapter 1 went both ways - some stating it was a bit of a boring roadblock to getting through the chapter, and others who understood their necessity.

While I'm definitely building a personal narrative I also want to address larger issues and doing that requires a technical foundation. So that's what I'm trying to do right here - in these first few chapters getting some of the dry, technical stuff out of the way so we're all on the same page later on as far as terminology, definitions and so on.

I also want to present as much information as possible. I'm willing to bet that there are folks out there who've been diagnosed with ADD who've never seen the DSM definitions or diagnostic criteria, or even knew those things existed.

I'll be presenting some similar technical information about Ritalin (and other meds) in the next chapter and then use that discussion to veer back into my personal experiences. That will help guide a discussion of actually growing up on Ritalin with an ADD diagnosis and my experiences (and struggles) as I got older.

Finally, I had planned on addressing some of the questions and issues that folks emailed me about after reading the first chapter. I wrote a couple of things but I ended up feeling like I was just trying to encapsulate everything that will eventually be covered in the book. It's with that in mind that I'm deciding to just let the chapters stand on their own for now. Obviously if there are any glaring errors or points where readers are getting the wrong impression I'll try and address them.

Your feedback is definitely helping me make sure I address certain aspects, so thank you for that. Once the book is complete it will make more sense to address particular questions if needed.

As before I welcome comments, suggestions, stories and sharing with your friends. Enjoy!

Raised on Ritalin // Chapter 3

 

<--Chapter 2

So that was Chapter 3. The big news is that I've signed with an agent - Jen Linnan at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates - to find a publisher for Raised on Ritalin! We're working on putting together a formal proposal/pitch right now and hopefully someone will be smart enough to publish it! I'll be continuing work on the book - probably in rough/outline form until we land a publisher, so this may or may not be the last chapter I post. Once I know what's happening with all of that, I'll know how much more I can post online.

Thanks again to everyone who's been reading, commenting, and linking to the comic. The support has been very much appreciated!