The LDA Podcast

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...

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...

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 ca...

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 co...

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 e...

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 feature...

In this episode of our Learning Disabilities Awareness Month Mini-Series, we talk to Dr. Vincent C. Alfonso, a Professor in the School of Education at Gonzaga University and member of the LDA Board of Directors, about science based practices and interventions in education. Dr. Alfonso discusses some common interventions for students with learning disabilities, how to address the science to practic...

Taking arsenic out of baby food seems like a no-brainer. But Tracy Gregoire, director of LDA's Healthy Children Project, explains how long these changes can take. Tune in to hear about Healthy Children Project's past victories, current campaigns, and how they work to make the world a safer, healthier place.  For more information from LDA, visit: https://ldaamerica.org/ To visit the Healt...

"With 80% confidence, you can predict in third grade where a kid's going to be in 10th." Mark Halpert of 3D Learner talks to us about the importance of identifying struggling students early and supporting them to get them on grade level by third grade.  This episode marks the end of our first season. Stay tuned for information on our next season, which is already in the works! For m...

Caroline McGuire,  the director of ADD Coach Academy and author of Why Will No One Play With Me, talks to us about the 7 aspects of socializing that students need to know, and how to teach these life skills. For more resources from LDA, visit https://ldaamerica.org/  

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which refers to a range of characteristics that are caused by a fetus’s exposure to alcohol, affects between 2-5% of 1st graders in the U.S. today.  Lyn McMurry and Julia Rivera from the North Texas FASD Network, a support group for those with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, define the characteristics of FASD, talk to us about the connection between learning disab...

“Every day is built up of thousands of interactions, so the way that we communicate makes a big difference.” Dr. Helene Dionne, the Director of Counseling Services at Landmark School, and Laura Polvinen, a licensed social worker and counseling team leader at Landmark School, discuss different strategies for parents and teachers for addressing behavioral issues and social emotional challenges for s...

“I always take on a new challenge every year to learn something new. Whether it be personal or professional, and do things that are out of my comfort zone. It helps me then to appreciate what struggles or challenges that the students that I have have to face when I’m asking them to do things.”  What does it take to be named Educator of the Year? Patricia Buckley has been teaching special education...

In this episode, we talk to Tracy Gregoire, the coordinator of LDA’s Healthy Children Project, about how to find school supplies that are free of harmful chemicals, why these products can be difficult to find, what safer cleaning supplies schools should be considering, and more! For more from the Healthy Children Project, visit: https://healthychildrenproject.org/ For more resources from LDA, visi...

Anxiety in children has long been on the rise, and currently 1 in 4 children in classrooms have anxiety. Dr. Beverly Johns, author, learning and behavior consultant, and current president-elect of LDA Illinois shares some strategies for parents and teachers for helping children with anxiety.  For more resources from LDA, visit ldaamerica.org

Sharona Sommer, the Director of Learning for the College Internship Program National (CIP) and certified professional coach, shares some tips and resources for success with executive function. CIP offers post-secondary programs for those with autism, ADHD, and other learning differences, to help individuals with the transition into adulthood.  For more about CIP, visit: https://cipworldwide.org/ F...

Dyslexia has long been one of the most well-known learning disabilities, and as such, there are many more resources for testing and assistance. Dyscalculia, which interferes with an individual’s calculation skills and their ability to comprehend math facts, is a learning disability that can often be overlooked in schools. Dr. Anneke Schreuder, the founder of Math and Dyscalculia Services, talks to...

Chris Zeigler Dendy and Dr. Ruth Hughes, aside from being school and clinical psychologists, are also mothers of adult sons with ADHD. The two share their own personal experience in supporting their children through adulthood, and offer advice on topics like considering a gap year between high school and further education, how to guide your child into finding a career that they’re interested in, h...

In this episode, we talk to Tracy Gregoire, the coordinator of LDA’s Healthy Children Project. The mission of the Healthy Children Project is to prevent or eliminate the preventable causes of learning and developmental disabilities. While talking to Tracy, we learn about the dangers of toxic chemical exposure, different resources to find safe products, and how to advocate for companies to use safe...

Today, LDA’s Education Committee Chair Kristina Scott Quinlan interviews author and literacy consultant Katie Garner about teaching strategies for new or struggling readers. Garner tells us that the social and emotional parts of the brain are the first to develop, and teaches how to take advantage of these already-built highways and connections to teach reading and writing skills. For more resourc...

"There's no ceiling to what we can do." Toby Baker’s educational experience was far from easy. She has self identified as having ADHD and a learning disability, and she frequently moved around to different schools throughout K-12.  When it came time to go to college, her teachers and advisors tried to dissuade her, but she went anyway.  Now she talks to us about her dissertation abo...

In this episode, we get the chance to sit down with licensed psychologist Dr. Vincent Alfonso, and First Vice President of LDA Monica McHale-Small. Both discuss the definition of a learning disability and how it differs from learning difficulties, talk about the latest neurological research, and call for more federal funding for learning disability research.  For more resources from LDA, visit htt...