On Their Own: Creating an Independent Future for Your Adult Child with Learning Disabilities and ADHD: A Family Guide »

Anne Ford served as Chairman of the Board of the National Center for Learning Disabilities from 1989 to 2001, and continues to work on behalf of people with learning disabilities. She recounted her experience raising a child with LD in the acclaimed memoir Laughing Allegra. She lives in New York City. John-Richard Thompson is an award-winning playwright and novelist. He lives in New York City.

An indispensable guide to the special challenges faced by parents of learning-disabled children as they enter adulthood, by the author of Laughing Allegra, a leading activist and parent of an adult child with LD.

In 2003 Anne Ford (great-granddaughter of Henry Ford) published Laughing Allegra, about the struggles of raising her learning-disabled daughter, and received a flood of letters from parents of children with LD, ADD, and ADHD, many expressing concerns about what to do as their children age.

On Their Own is an invaluable road map to ease these parents' fears and answer their questions, especially the one that haunts them daily: Will or can their child be on their own, and how? In a candid, sympathetic style, laced with real-life stories, the book covers such topics as:
• Social skills and dating
• Staying healthy
• Sibling relationships
• Interaction with employers and co-workers
• Job hunting
• Finding the right college or trade school
• Estate planning

Also included are a comprehensive resource guide and exclusive interviews with prominent professionals who have surmounted their learning disabilities: CEO's Sir Richard Branson, John Chambers, David Neeleman, and Charles Schwab, and former governor Gaston Caperton.

Foreword   Sally Shaywitz, M. D     vii
Introduction: "Now What Do I Do?"     xiii
The Adult with Learning Disabilities
"So What Is It?"     3
Signs and Symptoms     9
Allegra: A Portrait of My Daughter     17
Relationships
The Parent-Child Bond: Learning to Let Go     27
Brothers and Sisters     39
Friends     48
Dating     64
Marriage and Parenting     72
After High-School Graduation Day: The College Student with LD and ADHD
Is College an Option?     81
Before Graduation Day: Transitions from High School     85
The Fearful Student: Finding Your Child's Interests     93
LD, ADHD, and the SAT     98
How to Find the Right College     104
Financial Aid     112
The GED: A Second Chance     119
The College Student with LD or ADHD     123
The Helicopter Parent     130
On the Job: Employing the Adult with LD and ADHD
Defining Success     135
Business 101     143
"Show Me Spark!": Corporate America and the Adult with LD     158
Motivation     165
Managing on Their Own: Life Concerns for the Adult with LD and ADHD
Staying Healthy     177
Medication and ADHD     200
The Fine Print     208
Estate Planning     214
Interviews: Advice for Parents from Prominent People with LD
Introduction   Betsy Morris     225
Sir Richard Branson, Chairman and CEO, Virgin Group     228
Gaston Caperton, President, College Board, former Governor of West Virginia     236
John Chambers, President and CEO, Cisco Systems     245
David Neeleman, Founder and CEO, JetBlue Airways     257
Charles Schwab, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Charles Schwab & Co.     264
Epilogue     274
Acknowledgments     279
Resource Guide     281
Index     297