Recorded presentation

Jane Browning, Learning Disabilities Association of America, 4156 Library Road, Suite 1, Pittsburgh, PA 15234-1349, 412-341-1515, jbrowning@ldaamerica.org

More than half of all children receiving special education services in U.S. public schools are categorized as having specific learning disabilities, roughly 3 million children. In recent years, the incidence of learning disabilities and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders has been on the rise. The Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) has long been concerned that environmental factors are triggering latent genetic tendencies towards learning disabilities, advocating federal funding of research into the sources and effects of neurotoxicity.In this context, the LDA inaguarated theThe Healthy Children Project in 2003. Through the LDA's local affiliates in various regions of the country, the project promotes and organizes grassroots prevention activities aimed at reducing exposure to environmental toxins. These coalition building efforts have already proved successful in passing state and local legislation to reduce mercury levels, ban PBDEs, and reduce industrial emissions. Expansion to multiple sites, web based coordination, and evaluation strategies will be described.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain a basic understanding of the nature and causes of specific learning disabilities including links between toxic environmental exposures and learning disabilities.
• Participants will be able to describe the Heatlhy Children Project, a new national program of the LDA, which has developed educational and advocacy opportunities for its constituencies to help reduce exposures to environmental neurotoxics.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation