An controversial analysis of the true cause of Attention Deficit Disorder. In the United States more than 3 million children--and numerous adults--suffer from A.D.D. Based on personal experience and years of medical practice and research, Scattered is a groundbreaking book that explodes the conventional wisdom that A.D.D. is a genetically based disorder, declaring instead that its roots are environmental. Dr. Gabor Mate, a family physician and himself an A.D.D. sufferer, asserts that A.D.D. originates in infancy as a response to conditions that fail to provide a necessary degree of emotional or physical security. Financial problems, marital strife, job stress, and substance abuse can all create an environment that may trigger A.D.D. In Scattered, Mate"s mission is not to place blame. Instead, he provides the means of identifying problems and arms parents and readers with the necessary tools to solve them. His plan for healing is an optimistic approach, placing emphasis on what changes need to be made to a child"s environment instead of focusing strictly on what is wrong with the child. Neither pro nor anti-drug, Mate believes that medications such as Ritalin should be considered as part of the overall treatment of A.D.D.