LD Links (June 2006 LD News)

Preventing and Remediating Difficulties with Reading Fluency
Difficulties with reading fluency are nearly universal among individuals with learning disabilities in reading. Louise Spear-Swerling discusses the three main reasons why fluency is important and suggests ways to recognize early difficulties, identify patterns, and remediate.

For more information, visit: http://www.ldonline.org/spearswerling/8811

National Exhibit for Young Artists with Disabilities
VSA arts and Volkswagen of America are seeking artwork from young artists with disabilities, ages 16-25, living within the U.S. "Destination Anywhere" challenges artists to consider a place where the viewer might take a trip they never expected. The deadline for submission of artwork is July 14, 2006. Contact Jennifer Colaguori, visual arts coordinator, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 800-933-8721 ext. 3885 with questions.   
 
For additional information, visit: www.vsarts.org/VWcall

To learn about NCLD's Art & Poetry Competition for young artists with learning disabilities and to view the 2006 winning entries, click here.

Tech-based Resources for Students with Disabilities
Janet Hopkins, the author of an assistive technology guide for K-12 media specialists, shares a sampling of tools on the market providing support to students with communication, mobility, literacy, visual and hearing challenges. Her wide-ranging picks include speech recognition software, switch products, screen magnifiers and speech-to-text systems.

Free registration required to view this resource.

Free Tutoring from the Churchill Center in NYC
For the fifth consecutive year, The Churchill School and Center in New York City is offering their Reading Initiative program. The program consists of 27 weeks of free systematic Orton-Gillingham instruction using the Preventing Academic Failure (PAF) program for students whose family can not afford private tutoring. Eligible children have completed Kindergarten but are having difficulty with sound/symbol recognition, or are in grades 1, 2 or 3, and are struggling to read and/or are dyslexic.  For application materials and/or questions, contact Susan Spero at the Churchill Center, (212) 722-0610.

To learn more about the Churchill Center and School, visit their websites at: http://www.churchillcenter.com/index.shtml and http://www.churchillschool.com/.

Helping Teachers Secure Quality Positions
Recruiting New Teachers, Inc. has revised and updated its National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse website to help the thousands of teachers looking for positions for the coming school year. The site provides extensive information about how to become a teacher, where teachers are needed, certification requirements in each state, education and training programs, financial aid for teachers, and tips on locating the right position.

To visit this site, go to: http://www.recruitingteachers.org/channels/clearinghouse/.

College Juniors and Seniors and Grad Student Internships
Applications for the U.S. State Department's 2007 Spring Student Internship Program are now being accepted. Paid and unpaid internships are available. Interns work in Washington, D.C. and in embassies overseas. The application deadline is July 3, 2006.

Read about a student with a disability who participated in this program at: http://www.miusa.org/newsitems/statedeptinternships.

For more information about the internship program, go to:
http://careers.state.gov/student/programs/student_internships.html.

College Students with Disabilities Ready for Employment
The US Department of Labor has made available a database of qualified college students with disabilities for employers to find employees. This database is part of the Workforce Recruitment Program, which according to the website is "...an excellent resource of well-educated and highly skilled job candidates for employers to choose from" and "also offers an opportunity for college students and graduates with disabilities to contribute their talents to organizations large and small."

For more information, click here.

To read a related article about work readiness, go to: http://www.partnership4learning.org/eBriefing/May06/.

The Transition to College: Resources for Students with Disabilities
It is never too early to start making plans for the future. For students with learning disabilities this is particularly important as they must inform themselves about legal rights and opportunities in college.  The below links offer information and provide tips for preparing to transition from high school to college.

Click here to learn about the legal rights and requirements of students with learning disabilities entering college.  

Click here for a website that offers information, resources, and activities to help prepare middle and high school students with disabilities for college.

Interactive Website for Examining School and State Special Education Data
The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems and the National Institute for Urban School Improvement have developed this interactive data website to help states and school districts examine their special education data. On this website, interactive maps and tables present the distributions of students with disabilities across various disability categories.

For more information, go to: http://niusi.eddata.net/.