Since 1985, teachers, parents and other individuals who make a difference in the lives of children and adults with learning disabilities, have taken the month of October to educate the public about dyslexia, ADHD and more. This month, help spread awareness about learning disabilities by sending an article, interesting fact, or story to a friend, colleague or family member.
For more information about Learning Disabilities Awareness Month, including articles, book recommendations, and even a children’s art gallery, check out: http://www.ldonline.org.
Guest blogger Liana Heitin has taught students with special needs for the past five years as a public school teacher, reading specialist, and private tutor. She has a master’s degree in cross-categorical special education and is a freelance Web editor for LD OnLine, the leading website on learning disabilities and ADHD. LD OnLine offers research-based information and expert advice for parents, students, and educators. Liana’s writing has been featured in such publications as Education Week, teachermagazine.org, and the recent book, The Ultimate Teacher (HCI Books, May 2009).
While most kids (and many adults) are eagerly awaiting the 31st of the month, we here at LD OnLine are enjoying every day of October or — as we know it — LD Awareness Month! In Canada and the U.S., this month is dedicated to educating the public about learning disabilities in order to build acceptance and understanding.
If you’re in the know about LD, spreading your knowledge may seem like a daunting task. But LD Awareness Month isn’t necessarily about setting out on a campaign to inform the world. It’s about starting in your world and watching the knowledge proliferate beyond.
As usual, the best place to start is in your own home. If you have a child with a disability, it’s important for him or her to understand what that disability is all about, in order to find comfort and learn to self-advocate. If your child does not have a disability, there is inevitably someone in his or her class who does and is in need of supportive peers.
There are lots of great children’s books out there that explain what it’s like to have LD and promote the idea that everyone has different strengths and needs. Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco and I Wish I Could Fly Like a Bird by Katherine Denison are great options for younger kids. Both have pictures and tell a story that allows you to connect and empathize with the main character. Older students may like Shirley Kirnoff’s The Human Side of Dyslexia or Kinko’s founder Paul Orfalea’s Copy This! Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic who Turned a Bright Idea Into One of America’s Best Companies, both of which offer hopeful yet realistic first-person accounts about living with LD.
For young students, stories featuring characters with LD can also be effective classroom read-alouds. Consider passing a book about learning disabilities on to your child’s teacher or offering to come to school and read one to the entire class. Kids are surprisingly receptive to classroom guests, and the message behind a visitor’s reading is likely to stay with them.
To find more titles of books about LD, check out our LD Resources page.
