Each year the LDA of America selects an outstanding educator to receive the Sam Kirk Educator of the Year Award. This is an opportunity to give educators a well-deserved “thank you” and lets them know that they are greatly valued for their contributions to individuals with learning disabilities. The award is designed so that exceptional educators can be honored at the local, state and national levels. We hope that every local and state affiliate will participate! Procedures for Nominations The recipient of the Sam Kirk Educator of the Year Award must be “an educator who has made outstanding contributions to… Read More »
Nominate Someone for the 2020 Harrison Sylvester Award!
August 22, 2019 By Leave a Comment
This award honors and recognizes an adult with learning disabilities who has shown a strong dedication and commitment to advancing the issues of adults with learning disabilities. It is the wish of LDA to thank, in Harry Sylvester’s name, an adult with learning disabilities for his/her commitment to those living with learning disabilities. The Harrison Sylvester Award was created in 2010 to honor Harry Sylvester, a gentle but strong voice in the field of learning disabilities. Harry discovered in his mid 50’s, after struggling for most of life, that he was an adult with learning disabilities. With the knowledge of his… Read More »
President’s Message
August 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
In the President’s Message, Beth McGaw shares the Conference theme, the reasons you should attend, and looks ahead to keynote announcements!….Watch the Video…
Meet David Allsopp, one of our 2020 Conference Program Chairs
August 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
LDA is delighted to have David Allsopp, a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning’s Exceptional Student Education program at the University of South Florida, and Marci Ridpath, a Disability Consultant/teacher at the NCAA as our Conference Program Co-Chairs. In this video, we interview David and he shares some of the excellent work they have accomplished, including securing great speakers and developing strands that ensure conference attendees can attend more of the sessions that are relevant to their needs….Watch the Video…
LDA Supports Actions to Address Bullying
August 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
By Myrna Mandlawitz, Director of Public Policy LDA has long recognized that children and youth with learning and other disabilities are at high risk for being bullied. While there have only been 10 studies in the United States examining the connection between bullying and disability, all have reached the same conclusion: children with disabilities are two to three times more likely to be the victims of bullying than nondisabled children. For students with learning disabilities, bullying can heighten students’ anxiety and concerns about school, affecting academic performance and increasing school phobia, resulting in higher absenteeism and possibly higher rates of… Read More »
How to Navigate Moving to Another School District
August 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Michelle Davis, a member of the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee and a Professional Advocate, shares her expertise in helping parents who have moved or are about to move to another district or state. If this impacts your children or your students, you will want to check out this interview….Watch the Video…
Helping Non-English Speaking Parents in the IEP Process: House Bill 424: A Vision Became a Reality
August 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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Moving Beyond Math Phobia: A Strategy for Developing Conceptual Knowledge
August 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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Go Back to School with Safer School Supplies
August 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Proceed with caution when you buy back-to-school supplies. Some school supplies have harmful chemicals in them that can impact children’s learning and brain development. Here are some tips for finding safer school supplies: Look for PVC-Free, BPA-Free, Phthalate-Free and Fragrance-Free Supplies When possible, avoid purchasing anything with phthalates and PVC by avoiding any products with the word “vinyl” on them or Recycling Code 3 when purchasing school supplies, shoes, backpacks, etc. For example, buy canvas or cloth pencil holders instead of the plastic ones. Avoid colored paper clips because they may be coated with PVC. Stick with the plain metal… Read More »
Nominating Committee Requests Recommendations for 2020-21 Officers and Board of Directors
August 17, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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LDA Legislative News – August 2019
August 10, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Congress Passes Bipartisan Budget Deal As the congressional August recess approached, LDA and other advocacy organizations waited to see if Congress would finalize a deal to raise the budget caps put in place by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA). The BCA caps were set to expire at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 (school year 2021-22). The result of the BCA caps remaining in effect for Fiscal Years (FY) 2020 and 2021 would have been deep cuts to current spending levels in all LDA’s priority areas – education, health, job training, and environmental issues. Members of Congress… Read More »
Groups sue EPA for refusing to ban brain-damaging pesticide
August 7, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Today, health and labor organizations sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for refusing to ban a widely used agricultural pesticide linked to damaging children’s brains and farmworker poisonings.
“EPA has repeatedly found chlorpyrifos unsafe, especially to children, yet time and time again it refuses to protect kids,” said Patti Goldman, the Earthjustice managing attorney handling the case. “But Earthjustice and our clients won’t stand for this. The science and the law call for a chlorpyrifos ban. We are hopeful the courts will do the same for the sake of children and farmworkers.” Read More »
President’s Message
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
LDA’s President, Beth McGaw, joins Mark Halpert to provide an update on what’s happening with LDA recently. Watch the Video…
Is Equal Education a Reality? Eligibility by State: Share your Experience with LDA
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
By Stephanie Fedro-Byrom, Operations Manager “… states may determine their own processes for identifying and evaluating children. As a result, a child eligible for services in one state may be ineligible in another.” (“Special Education: Varied State Criteria May Contribute to Differences in Percentages of Children Served, Government Accountability Office, GAO-19-348, April 2019) A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found a wide variance in special education numbers across the states. The report found that states establish their own eligibility criteria for determining the presence of a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). This finding is not a surprise to LDA. Allowing… Read More »
Summer Regression aka The Summer Slide
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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LDA Goes to Washington
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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Nominating Committee Requests Recommendations for 2020-21 Officers and Board of Directors
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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Is Equal Education a Reality? Income Inequality in Education
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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Protecting Developing Brains
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
By Maureen Swanson, Healthy Children Project Director As the federal government repeatedly fails to protect children from toxic chemicals and pollutants, states are stepping into the breach. This year, state efforts to ban neurotoxic flame retardant chemicals and the brain-altering pesticide “chlorpyrifos” are providing LDA with opportunities to help make products, food and water safer for children’s growing minds and bodies. State action on flame retardants: Certain flame retardant chemicals can harm children’s brain development, contributing to learning and attention disorders and IQ deficits. These chemicals are also carcinogenic, resulting in higher cancer rates among firefighters in particular. Multiple studies… Read More »
Across the States
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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LDA Continues Support for the RISE Act!
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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The Learning Disabilities Association of America is Hosting its 57th Annual International Conference!
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
By Rachel Krueger and Kaci Smith Warm sun, palm trees, and a gorgeous resort! Does that sound like a place you want to be? We are headed to “The Sunshine State!” The conference committee team is working hard to make the LDA 57th Annual International Conference in Orlando one of the best! The conference will take place at the beautiful Orlando World Center Marriott on February 17-20, 2020. Our outstanding program will feature Keynote presentations and over 200 additional Sessions, Table Talks, and Poster Sessions that will cover a wide variety of topics of interest to families and professionals in… Read More »
Eye to Eye at the University of Denver
June 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
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Core Principles: Evaluation and Identification of Learning Disabilities
April 7, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Evaluation and Identification of Learning Disabilities Accurate identification through a thorough evaluative process, is the first step to ensure that individuals with Learning Disabilities[i] receive the services, supports and accommodations that are required for academic and life success. It is the position of the Learning Disabilities Association of America that the domains discussed below, must be assessed as part of a thorough evaluation for potential Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities range in severity and interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following: oral language– listening, speaking, understanding; reading– decoding, phonetic knowledge, word recognition, fluency and comprehension;… Read More »
President’s Message
April 7, 2019 By Leave a Comment
2019 Conference Welcome to this issue of LDA Today. Since we last met the LDA 56th Annual International Conference was held in Fort Worth. There were close to 700 parents, educators and professionals who attended from across the states and around the world. We received very positive feedback on all aspects of the conference. If you attended and want to provide your feedback, we welcome it also. Just email us at info@ldaamerica.org. Thank you to the conference chairs, program chairs, conference committee, and staff as well as the exhibitors, sponsors, advertisers and speakers. It takes a team to plan and… Read More »
