Learning Disabilities Association, Incorporated (LDA)
Columbia Affiliate

A non-profit organization whose volunteers give support and information tolearning disabled individuals, their families and professionals.

Have you seen this child?
He reads saw for was. He says a B is a D and D is a P.
He skips, omits or adds words when he reads aloud.
She reads well but can hardly spell a word.
He can talk about life on Mars but can't add 2+2.
She starts talking the middle of an idea.
He call breakfast lunch and confuses yesterday with tomorrow.
He discusses monsoons but does not know the order of the seasons.
He doesn't look. She doesn't listen. He doesn't remember.
She doesn't do what she's supposed to do.
Have you seen this child?

From Sally Smith, No Easy Answers, Bantam Books, 1979

What is a learning disability?

If you have recently been told that your child has a learning disability, how will it affectyour child as he/she develops? How will siblings be affected? How will this affect the family?

Definition:

Learning disabilities are usually disorders of the central nervous system that interfere withone or more basic learning function. Prior to the passage of Public Law 94-142, SpecificLearning Disabilities (SLD) were known by many names including minimal brain damage, perceptualhandicaps, communication disorders and other. SLD will affect information processing in someway. This central nervous system processing deals with collecting, sorting, and expressinginformation.

Labels:

"Lazy" - "difficult"- "daydreamer" - "class clown" - "clumsy" are some of the labels parentshear used to describe a learning disabled child. These labels result from learning impairments,sometimes so elusive that they could be called "hidden handicaps." Often the parent is unawarethat a problem exists until after the child enters school.

Characteristics:

Recent statistics conclude that 15 percent of school children have difficulty learning whattheir classmates seem to learn effortlessly and comfortably. These learning disabled childrenmay be called dyslexic, perceptually impaired, neurologically handicapped and educationallyhandicapped. No two children will display the same cluster of symptoms, which can range fromdeceptively mild to extremely severe. It is important to remember that the intelligence oflearning disabled children is above the mentally retarded range.

Here are some common characteristics of a learning disabled child. If a specific group ofsymptoms exist, the child should be examined and evaluated. If a child has only a fewcharacteristics, these do not necessarily indicate a learning disability. Most children showsome of these characteristics at different stages of development.

Purpose:

The LDA (formerly Association for Children with Learning Disabilities) is a nationalnot-for-profit organization founded by parents over 20 years ago to provide supportfor the learning disabled, their families and professionals in the field of learningdisabilities.

The LDA of Missouri consists of several local councils throughout the state working toprovide information and parent support to members. The state leadership consists of bothparent and professional representatives from the local councils.

The LDA Columbia Council offers:


For information contact:


Learning Disabilities Association of America
4156 Library Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15234
(412)341-1515

National Center for Learning Disabilities
381 Park Avenue South, Suite 1401
New York, NY 10016
(212)545-7510

Learning Disabilities Association, Inc. of Missouri
P.O. Box 3303
Springfield, MO 65808

Learning Disabilities Association, Inc. of Missouri
Columbia Affiliate
P.O.Box 1952
Columbia, MO 65205-4005

contact persons:
Mary Mosley (573)642-6354 (Fulton)
Sharon Bussard (573)443-3277 (Columbia)