Ready for Take-Off: Preparing Your Teen With ADHD or LD for College Paperback – November 15, 2010

I have this book in the reception area of my private psychotherapy practice so parents can read it. It is well received.

Great suggestions, easy to read

Good to read, best to buy in the senior year of high school though. It has a lot of great information about things to do to prepare them to leave, but that those need to be started long before you pack the car. I wish we would have read it earlier as many of the challenges that she warns about have presented themselves in our college freshman.

Is your child bright enough for college but needs your help to get through the daily grind of high school? Do you worry whether she or he will thrive on campus alone? Me, too. That's why it was such a relief to find this book. _Ready for Take-Off_ provides a checklist of specific college survival skills and advice on coaching your child to acquire them. Dr. Maitland's goal is to help you gradually put your teen in charge of managing his or her own life so the transition to college will go more smoothly. I wish schools would put this book in the hands of all parents of teens with ADD or LD.

Everyone should read this book if they are launching off a teen with ADD

Even though my child was already in college, I found this book to be extremely helpful and informative. I wish I had come across it earlier, but glad I found it when I did.

This was a great book for helping your teen set goals and plan the future . Gives examples on how to talk to them and couch them, and have them think for themselves . It was very helpful for teens in high school..

Be proactive with your high schooler with ADHD and read this book. Dr. Maitland knows there are many reasons why smart college students with ADHD and LD struggle to succeed in college. She is a disability specialist at UNC-Chapel Hill who has seen all the pitfalls up close, and acts as a wise guide to prevent it from happening to your kid. Let's face it folks--raising a student with a disability is a tight rope act at best. It is fertile ground for growing parents who are enablers. We all know how to step in, but Dr. Maitland coaches you how to step back and train skills of daily living, self-determination, and study skills BEFORE students leave home. This book has short quizzes for both parent and student to help you both make a Personalized College Readiness Program. Both authors are reassuring about watching your student fail first at home. It is the best place to practice. I'm going to recommend this book to my SEPAC group and invite Dr. Maitland to present her plan in person at one of our meetings. EYE OPENING!

I found this to be a clear, enjoyable, and practical book written for parents of teens with ADHD/LD. I also think it would be a very helpful resource for professionals, particularly anyone doing "hands on" type of work with teens with ADHD/LD (e.g., as a coach, teacher, social worker). The book details a step-by-step program to help prepare teenagers with the independence skills needed for college...or life! The case studies and examples suggest that the authors have a very good understanding of ADHD and LD and some of the added challenges this can present for college/university readiness. While it is a book written by authors in the US context, almost everything is equally applicable to the Canadian context. As well, I think this book could be a great read even for parents of teens who do not have ADHD/LD, but who want to work for college readiness.Chapter 1 orients you to the some of the obstacles teens with ADHD/LD face on the road to success in college/university (including the change in the laws for special education in the elementary/secondary system vs. more general 'accommodations' in the college/university system, the need for up-to-date psychological assessments, how skill deficits in ADHD/LD can be a bad fit with college demands, and the unfortunate impact that overprotecting your child could have). Chapter 2 floats the idea of the downsides of "enabling" by overprotecting and helping too much as a parent, while still being compassionate and understanding. Chapter 3 discusses a "coaching" approach to parenting (very similar to Ross Greene's Collaborative & Proactive Solutions) and gives some principles for coaching conversations (e.g., nonjudgmental, collaborative, teen is in charge, expressing confidence, asking open ended questions, acknowledging feelings). Chapter 4 contains a detailed but straightforward survey for both parents and teens about key college readiness skills (e.g., self-knowledge, advocacy, self-management, self care, organization, time management, study skills). Chapter 5 discusses using this to create a "Personalized College Readiness Program" by having coaching sessions that involve setting SMART goals and action plans. It mentions that parents may struggle to be the "coach" themselves and suggests accessing informal or formal supports, acknowledging not all families can afford coaches, etc. The remaining chapters include many tips and tricks for developing each of the skill areas, then a final chapter with success stories.Overall I am thrilled to have this practical book in my library and look forward to recommending it to parents. The only piece I felt was "missing" was a little more on the emotional/social side of things. Additional challenges such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, or stress can also play a huge role for these students-- maybe that will make it into the next edition. :)