“This child is so smart.”
“If you wait, he will probably outgrow it.”
“If she tried harder, she would be more successful in school.”
“If you help her, you are an enabler. Accommodations are a crutch.”
“If he would just sit still and listen, if she would just focus, if he would just try
harder…………”

Your gut tells you these statements are wrong but what if they are right?

When a child is diagnosed with a learning disability (LD), it’s really hard to decide what you
should do to help them. Options are few and confusing and usually expensive. Family and friends
give you advice laced with pity, misinformation, or antidotal platitudes. You look to the educators
for help only to find that really they want to help, but either their training lacks LD expertise or their
resources are inadequate. Many providers fail to see the whole child.

We know from first-hand experience that finding answers is so hard. It’s hard for parents
and it’s hard for teachers. That’s why the Greater Baton Rouge LD Coalition works diligently to
bring free information to our community through the C W Austin LD Conference. For over 10
years, we’ve brought together professionals from our area who are resources for LD kids together to
talk about solutions, strategies, therapies designed to foster academic success for the 1 in 5 people
who suffer with learning disabilities.

Each LD child is unique and so are their needs. That’s why we invite lots of different kinds
of helping professionals to present at this conference to provide a myriad of ideas about ways to
help. Educators, mental health professionals, advocates and doctors volunteer their time and talent
to reach out into our community to serve as resources in this important effort to change the world
for LD kids.

Knowledge is power and as you broaden your understanding of learning disabilities, you’ll be
able to make better decisions based on research and professional experience, not society’s
misconceptions. School will never be easy for LD kids but it is a lot easier if the adults in their life
are prepared to make good decisions.

People who come to this conference always meet professionals from the Greater Baton
Rouge area who are caring resources ready to help. Almost as important are the connections they
make as they meet other attendees who share their struggle. I’ve learned so much in the hallways, at
lunch or in the restroom as I hear stories of others’ battle to help kids with LD.

We are proud to be a source of low cost and free professional development for educators,
social workers, counselors, speech and language therapists, parents and foster parents. Providers
who don’t understand can destroy the self-esteem of a kid with an LD just as those who are armed
with best practice expertise can build it up.

Kids with learning disabilities will not outgrow them. It is not their fault. They are trying
hard. They can’t focus without help. Accommodations are their civil right and they need your help.
Please go to the Events tab of our website www.ldhelp.org to register for this important
event. Everyone is invited and everyone leaves better prepared to help kids with LD. All it takes is
one new idea to make all the difference……..