The new State of Learning Disabilities Report just released

Read this comprehensive report on The State of Learning Disabilities. It has national and state-by-state information on the education of our kids with LD.

The picture is bleak. Boys in general, and particularly Hispanics and Blacks, are disproportionately diagnosed with Learning Disabilities (LD).  Students with LD are on the receiving end of a disproportionate number of disciplinary actions. Students with LD go on to postsecondary education at a much lower rate than their nondisabled peers, and of those who do, few seek supports in college and few earn undergraduate or advanced degrees. The section in the report on teacher training upset me, but did not surprise me. “Though most students with LD receive most of their instruction in general education classes, only 60% of students with LD have general education teachers who receive any information about their needs, indicating a need for more teacher training on the characteristics and instructional strategies essential to success for these students. Only about half of all students have teachers who receive advice from special educators or other staff on how to meet those needs.”

As a psychologist who offers training to school districts on how to support kids with Tourette Syndrome and other Learning Disabilities, I really appreciate how important it is to get in there on the front lines and help the teachers to help the kids. Many teachers want to provide support to kids with TS and LD but never received training on how to do it. There’s often a lot of trial and error, then they run out of ideas. Teachers will often then turn to the parents and ask for advice. I remember being shocked the first time my son’s teacher asked me to suggest educational strategies to help him. “I have 5 kids,” I thought to myself. “She’s had hundreds by now! Isn’t she the expert?”  I quickly realized that I was the expert on my child. I recently read a great quote: “If you know one kid with TS, you know one kid with TS.” You can also insert LD, ADHD, SPD, OCD, and so on. The teacher needs to get to know your child, and YOU are the expert on your child