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New York, NY - In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) will honor three outstanding individuals at its annual benefit dinner, "Voices of our Children, Voices of our Future," to be held Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at New York City's Marriott Marquis. This year's honorees have championed the needs of children who struggle to learn and have given them a strong public voice.

NCLD will bestow its Children's Advocacy Award on multi-platinum recording artist Clay Aiken, who taught special education before he made his breakthrough on American Idol's second season. Mr. Aiken's musical success has enabled him to focus on charitable work and advocacy for education and children's causes. In 2003, he created the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which promotes and funds educational and recreational programs for children with special needs and advocates for their integration into the environments of their non-disabled peers. In 2006, Mr. Aiken was appointed to the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, which advises the President and Secretary of Health and Human Services on programs and services.

NCLD will present its Spirit of Achievement Award to Prudential Chairman and CEO Art Ryan, who is an active leader in efforts that build communities and provide improved educational opportunities for America's children. The institution's philanthropic arm, The Prudential Foundation, is a non-profit grant making organization that funds initiatives that strengthen public education at the elementary school level and promotes literacy. Mr. Ryan is co-chair of Achieve, Inc., which was created by U.S. governors and business leaders to encourage the establishment of high academic standards for public schools. He also serves as a director of the American Council of Life Insurers and the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy. He co-chairs the New Jersey Performing Arts Center; he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and a member of the boards of trustees of New York Presbyterian Hospital and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

NCLD will grant its Distinguished Education Achievement Award to Donald D. Deshler, Ph.D., professor in the School of Education and director of the Center for Research on Learning at the University of Kansas. Dr. Deshler's first-hand experiences as a former junior high school teacher inspired him -- with his colleagues -- to design and validate the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM), a comprehensive approach to adolescent literacy which has trained over 400,000 educators nationwide. Dr. Deshler and his colleagues have also developed the Content Literacy Curriculum, a reform framework for secondary schools. He is an author and editor, serves on several policy and advisory boards relating to adolescent literacy and learning disabilities, and has received awards for his outstanding contributions to the field of learning disabilities. He has been named a Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the National Institute on Leadership, Disability and Students Placed at Risk, University of Vermont.

"These three extraordinary individuals serve as role models of leadership and advocacy," said James Wendorf, NCLD's executive director. "They exemplify NCLD's outreach to children, parents, educators and policy-makers over the past three decades."

NCLD has raised $1.6 million annually in the past three years, under the leadership of chairman of the board Fred Poses, chief executive officer of American Standard. Its goal for 2007 is $2 million, which will go toward the organization's programs and services for children, adolescents and adults.

The benefit dinner is the largest single national fundraising event in support of individuals with learning disabilities, who nationwide number approximately 15 million. NCLD has raised $1.6 million annually in the past three years, under the leadership of chairman of the board Fred Poses, chief executive officer of American Standard. The benefit also showcases the Anne Ford Scholarship given to a high school senior with a diagnosed learning disability who plans to go on to a four-year college.  This year the award is going to Ryan Makinson of Greensboro, North Carolina. The scholarship was established by NCLD’s board of directors to honor Anne Ford, the organization’s chairman emeritus.

This year's benefit will also mark the launch of Mrs. Ford's new book, On Their Own: Creating an Independent Future for Your Adult Child with Learning Disabilities. A follow-up to Laughing Allegra, Mrs. Ford's popular memoir about raising a daughter with LD, On Their Own addresses the concerns of parents whose children have moved beyond their school years.

This year's dinner chairs are Governor Gaston Caperton, president of The College Board and a former NCLD board member, and John Ingram, chairman of the board of Ingram Distribution Holdings and current NCLD board member.

The mission of NCLD is to ensure that the nation's 15 million children, adolescents and adults with learning disabilities have every opportunity to succeed in school, work and life.

NCLD provides essential information to parents, professionals and individuals with learning disabilities, promotes research and programs to foster effective learning, and advocates for policies to protect and strengthen educational rights and opportunities. For more information about NCLD or the benefit dinner, please visit http://www.ld.org/.