The LDA Podcast

This week we sit down with LDA CEO, attorney, and parent Cindy Cipoletti to discuss what caregivers should do if they suspect their child has an LD, learning disability evaluations, the difference between an IEP and 504 plan, the IEP process, and more, all from a parent's perspective. 

We talk to Mitchell Beres, President of LDA of Virginia and father to two children with LD, about what parents can expect when their child is identified with a learning disability. Mitchell shares advice on how to explain your child's LD to them, how to help your child with their homework–without doing it for them!–how to connect with your child's school, and more.  We also discuss the importance of using specific LD terms,  and how it's essential to teach your child to self-advocate. 

We sit down with learning and behavior consultant Bev Johns to discuss the prevalence of mental health issues in individuals with learning disabilities, current mental health statistics, and strategies for parents and teachers to monitor and work with students with mental health issues and LD. 

Special education attorney Grace Kim and mother Michelle Norman co-founded Partners in Promise, an organization that works to protect the rights of military children in special education. In this conversation Kim and Norman share their own experiences with the special education system, highlight the unique challenges military children in special education face, and share advice for all parents who are trying to navigate the world of special education.  Learn more about Partners in Promise at: https://thepromiseact.org/

Dr. Nancy Cushen White, a clinical professor at UCSF and a certified instructor of teaching for the Slingerland Multisensory (Multimodal) Structured Language Approach, sits down to talk to us about dysgraphia, the cognitive skills writing uses, how handwriting can improve reading and spelling skills better than typing, recommendations for handwriting instruction, and much more! 

LDA's Healthy Children Project Director Tracy Gregoire sits down with Safer Chemicals Healthy Families Director Liz Hitchcock to discuss the work that both organizations have done to push corporations to remove toxic chemicals from their products. This episode dives into why LDA fights to prevent toxic chemical exposures, what 'forever chemicals' linger in our food packaging, how campaigns of parents have made a difference in removing toxics, and how you can get involved. 

After struggling in school for all her life, at age 19, Patty Gillespie taught herself to read. With five learning disabilities, Gillespie was unable to thrive in the classroom, and had to find learning strategies that worked for her. These solutions would serve her in the future as she went on to become a reading specialist and educator, and her own life experience would give her empathy and a connection with her students. Listen to hear Gillespie's story, learn what tips she gives to those helping struggling readers, and hear her advice to students with learning disabilities. 

In this episode, LDA President Monica McHale-Small sits with special educator Dr. Lauren McClenney-Rosenstein to discuss the misidentification of learning disabilities in students of color, the intersection of environmental justice and disproportionality, the challenges that low income communities and communities of color face in getting the right support in education, and more. 

Carolyn Phillips, an expert in assistive technology, believes that her learning disabilities are "kind of a superpower." Beth McGaw, past president of LDA, says her son's struggles have made him resilient and stronger. Scientist Collin Diedrich explains how thinking differently can benefit his work. Although having a learning disability can come with many challenges, in this last episode of our LD Month mini-series, hear from individuals with LD have learned to harness the power of their strengths. 

Which type of policymaker should you reach out to when advocating for individuals with learning disabilities? What's the best format to use when contacting a representative? When should you get the press involved? PA State Representative Dan Miller and LDA advocates Bev Johns and Daphne Uliana answer these questions and more, while dishing out their best advocacy advice. This podcast features the highlights of our September webinar Advocacy: Building Relationships with Policymakers. This podcast is a part of our mini series for Learning Disabilities Awareness Month. Learn more at ldaamerica.org.