As a therapist, I encounter people with a lot of difficulties and challenges, and one way I unwind after a difficult appointment is by writing

Book: Pathways to Success: A Comprehensive Guide to Thriving with ADHD
Author: Rabbi Aharon Lerner
Publisher: Menucha Publishers

How it all began

Twenty years ago, at the instruction of the Belzer Rebbe, I studied methods to improve cognitive functioning under Professor Reuven Feuerstein a”h, and began to work with children who had learning disabilities.

After six years in this field, I qualified in psychotherapy, because I wanted to be able to treat emotional difficulties, too. Through my psychotherapy work with adults, I realized there were a jumble of emotional issues that often accompanied ADHD. What’s sad is that ADHD doesn’t have to involve these complications. They’re mostly a result of ignorance about how to educate and relate to a child with ADHD; a lot of anguish could be prevented if parents, teachers, and the public were more aware of the nature of the disorder. With that understanding, ADHD children would receive what they need to thrive.

Could you describe your writing space?

I live in Beit Shemesh and work from my office there half a week. During the other half of the week, I work in Yerushalayim. I devote one entire day, Tuesday, to researching and writing articles and preparing lectures. Most of the work on this book happened on those Tuesdays, and it was typed up on my laptop while sitting on buses on the way to Yerushalayim.

As a therapist, I encounter people with a lot of difficulties and challenges, and one way I unwind after a difficult appointment is by writing.

What I left unwritten

I left out the clinical descriptions of the symptoms, the “dry rules.” When I went to my Rebbe, the Admor of Belz shlita, to get guidance for my book, he told me not to use professional terms but simple language, to make it accessible to parents, to laymen with no psychological knowledge, and even to children with ADHD.

The hardest part to write

Like an anthropologist who travels to live with a tribe to learn about their culture, I had to journey into the world of children and adults with ADHD. As a therapist, I’m trained to enter other people’s realities and understand them, but it’s still a challenge.