Ford, Anne. Laughing Allegra: The inspiring story of a mother's struggle and triumph raising a daughter with learning disabilities. New York: New Market Press, 2003. 6 x 9. 243 pages. 7 pages of photographs. Paperback. $16.95. ISBN 1-55704-622-0.

Reviewed by David W. Worley, Indiana State University

Laughing Allegra is a phenomenological account of Anne Ford's tears, trials, and triumphs in raising her daughter, Allegra, who was diagnosed with significant learning disabilities (LD) early in childhood. Ford describes the various difficulties in gaining appropriate educational accommodations for her daughter while she also details the recurring bouts of denial, discouragement, shame, guilt, and fear she faced in doing so. While Ford addresses some of the issues Allegra encountered both as a child, and now as an adult, she primarily focuses on the vicissitudes and victories she faced and continues to face as a parent of a child with LD.

The book is divided into four parts. In Part 1, Ford recounts her personal story as the mother of Allegra. She emphasizes the heartache of coming to grips with the reality of Allegra's disabilities, while also finding ways to protect, and at the same time, proactively ensure Allegra's success as a human being. In part two, Ford answers FAQs that parents who are raising children with LD pose while also offering advice and encouragement. In Part 3, Ford provides a "mother's perspective." In this section, Ford addresses a variety of practical issues such as homework, finances, family relationships, and employment for people with LD. Specifically, Ford offers helpful, direct advice and assistance to parents in order to help them address the needs of their children with LD both as children and adults. In the final part of the book, Ford provides a topically organized, comprehensive list of resources for parents that will help them gain knowledge and assistance in their quest to provide the very best care for their children.

While Ford emphasizes many important themes in this book, she stresses the need for parents to communicate their experiences with their families. She particularly notes that it is vital that parents share the reality of their child's diagnosis with family members and friends. She recounts how she struggled with denial and the need to inform her parents and others about Allegra's learning disabilities, but also emphasizes the necessity of doing so. Ford also highlights the importance of addressing the issue of a child's learning disabilities with other children in the nuclear family because this is often a neglected area of communication that can result in misunderstanding and difficulties in a family unit.

This book is a valuable primer for parents with children with LD in that it provides both inspiration and information while also offering a candid assessment of the realities of parental involvement in addressing the needs of children with LD. While the book by intent is not a scholarly book, it provides important insights for those who serve parents and children with LD. Ford calls for professionals, whether doctors, clinicians, or teachers, to approach the assessment and accommodation of children with LD as humanists who care for people with disabilities as people first rather than as patients, clients, or students. She invites us to consider the importance of considering the phrase "people with disabilities" rather than "disabled people" as a fundamental shift in not only our language, but also in our attitudes. Researchers may find the book useful as a springboard for further study of the various issues which attend the parental, familial, and professional care of children with LD. For example, family communication researchers are likely to find provocative suggestions for a variety of research inquiries given Ford's first-hand account.

While the book offers advantages, there is one significant difficulty. Anne Ford is the daughter of Henry Ford II of Ford Motor Company fame and has, therefore, economic, political, and social power that many parents do not possess. Her account details the ways in which she was able to draw on these resources to ensure that Allegra received the very best that money and prestige could obtain. The book, therefore, does not offer information or advice about how parents can deal with public schools effectively, for example, since Allegra attended only private schools. The book does not address the financial or time constraints many parents face in attempting to ensure that their children receive needed services because Ford did not work outside the home and was able to give full attention to the needs of her daughter. Nevertheless, the book provides encouragement, advice, and information for parents of children with learning disabilities, while also serving as a potential seedbed for developing important research questions and reminding professionals of the importance of their attitudes and responsiveness to parents of children with LD.