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 execute a conference of this size.  So thank you once again to everyone involved.

2020 Conference

A conference like this doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a full year to plan starting with submissions of proposals for speakers.  I am happy to report that the Call for Proposals has opened for the 2020 Conference.  You can find out more and submit your proposal by clicking here.

The LDA 57th Annual International Conference will be held in Orlando Florida, Feb. 17-20, 2020 at the Orlando World Marriott. Since it falls during the weekend of President’s Day, plan to bring the family to visit the theme parks in the area.  So mark your calendars for Feb 2020 and we hope to see you there for another great time of learning and networking!

College Fraud Scam

Let’s now turn our attention to the most recent news reported about the college fraud scam. LDA was one of the first organizations to respond to the FBI investigation and DOJ statement that said parents were advised to seek for their children “extended time on the exams, including by having their child purport to have learning disabilities in order to obtain medical documentation.”

LDA released a press release and was invited to make statements on a few media outlets including NPR, Higher Ed and most recently an upcoming GMA segment.  Our stance is  that these actions hurt all individuals with disabilities, including those with learning disabilities.  It perpetuates that many students who obtain accommodations on college admissions do not have disabilities and that this abuse is widespread.  We explained that the process to be evaluated for a learning disability is extensive and often times expensive.  We take seriously these allegations to make sure that this type of fraud does not harm those that need accommodations such as extended time to show their true achievement levels.

Goodbye Mary-Clare

Lastly, I am sorry to report that our Executive Director, Mary-Clare Reynolds has left LDA to pursue other opportunities. We wish her well and thank her for her many years of service with LDA.  We hope to announce her replacement in the coming months.

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