Dear Friend of NCLD:

Now more than ever, it is imperative that parents work with their elected representatives to make sure that the voices of children and adults with learning disabilities are heard in Washington, D.C. and at the state and local level. Today, we invite you to join that chorus and become an LD advocate, working with us to create better outcomes for all individuals with learning disabilities.

Advocacy is essential to ensure that all children have the opportunity to achieve their potential. We must increase the number of teachers who understand and are prepared to help children with learning disabilities; provide accommodations, where necessary, for children with LD; increase awareness of the realities and the challenges of those faced with learning disabilities; and build the public will to invest the time and money necessary to make sure all children and adults receive the educational opportunities they deserve.

To help further these advocacy efforts, NCLD has developed this LD Advocates Guide. Made possible with the generous support of Schwab Learning, a nonprofit program of the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, the LD Advocates Guide seeks to explain how best to engage policymakers and the media on issues affecting the LD community. In addition to this step-by-step guidance, the Guide also provides a primer on key issues affecting the fields of learning disabilities and special education.

Since launching its public policy program in 1990 with the opening if its Washington, D.C. office, NCLD has mobilized tens of thousands of parents, teachers and other advocates our most important partners to speak in a single, concerted voice to Congress and the media. With this support behind us, we are actively involved in maintaining the individual rights of those with LD. NCLD is working to improve federal law and promote earlier identification of learning disabilities, more effective early intervention programs, better teacher preparation and increased educational funding.

The educational opportunities and rights that a child with learning disabilities enjoys have primarily been shaped by federal policies and laws, such as the landmark Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Our children need us to stand up and speak out for them, to ensure that hard-won access to effective instruction, appropriate assessment and support services is not lost. Please join us!

Sincerely,

James H. Wendorf
Executive Director
National Center for Learning Disabilities
New York, New York