You are here: > Calendar

Learning Disabilities Awareness Month

Explore below for:

Learning Disabilities Awareness Month is a time where people pay particular attention to children and adults with learning disabilities. During this month, LD OnLine asks each of you to teach one person something new about learning disabilities. You could, for example, introduce them to our newsletter or share an interesting article using the "Email" icon (located in the top right corner of every page).

Information on Learning Disabilities

Read A Primer on Learning Disabilities to find out what a learning disability is, what the different types of learning disabilities are, and what causes them.

Read these short articles to learn more about the specific types of learning disabilities:

Dyslexia (reading problems)
Dysgraphia (writing problems)
Dyscalculia (math problems)
Executive Function Difficulties (problems with organization)
ADHD (trouble regulating attention)

Our glossary defines the vocabulary of special education.

Our timeline tells the history of learning disabilities.

Fun Activities

Send an e-card to a teacher. The school year has just begun and an e-card about how a teacher has helped your child should get the year off to a great start.

Read a children's book aloud to a child you know.

Visit our kids' art gallery. Encourage your child to draw or paint a picture and submit it here.

Visit Sparktop, a website where kids with learning disabilities (or who learn differently) can create things, play games, connect with other kids, and discover new ways to succeed in school …and life.

Inspirational Stories

Here are some success stories about overcoming disabilities to give hope and inspire solutions for similar problems you may be experiencing:

My Son's Disability, and My Own Inability to See It
How the special education system helped her child
A Physician's Story
How a doctor overcame a non-verbal learning disability to pass her medical boards
Why I Love Audio Books
A person with dyslexia explains why he loves "reading" audio books
The Handicap that Had No Name
How learning about the label of "learning disabilities" helped a college student understand herself
The Journey Begins
How planning skills helped a man succeed in college, and on the job, despite his learning disabilities

More About Learning Disabilities

Our LD Topics section tells you how to help children learn math, writing and spelling, reading, and how to study. You also can find out about:

Here are some other helpful articles:

Parents: Help your child succeed with tips from Life Success for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Parent's Guide.
Teachers: Learn how to teach social skills to your difficult students in Teaching Social Skills to Kids Who Don't Yet Have Them.

History and Future of LD Awareness Month

October was originally designated in the United States as LD Month in 1985 through a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan. Learning Disabilities Association of Canada has celebrated an LD Month since 1987 and provides a toolkit to help you celebrate. For many years, learning disabilities organizations in the United States used the month to inform the public about learning disabilities through events and proclamations. LD Month is still commemorated in a few states. LD OnLine is considering a plan for public education in LD Month next year. Please contact us if you formally celebrated LD month this year, using "Positive side of LD" as your subject. We may feature your ideas next year.

< previous month May 2012 next month >

May 2012

Apr 10 - May 11	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Seeing Stars Lindamood-Bell Pittsburg, PA Go to Website >
Apr 29 - May 2	IRA Annual Convention International Reading Association Chicago, IL Go to website >
Apr 30 - May 2	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Lindamood Phoneme Sequences Lindamood-Bell Casper, WY Go to Website >
Apr 30 - May 1	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Seeing Stars Lindamood-Bell Orlando, FL Go to Website >
All Month	Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Nationwide Colorín Colorado Go to website >
May 1	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Seeing Stars Lindamood-Bell Las Cruces, NM Go to Website >
May 1	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Seeing Stars Lindamood-Bell Montreal, QC Go to Website >
May 1	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Seeing Stars Lindamood-Bell Providence, RI Go to Website >
May 2	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Visualizing and Verbalizing Lindamood-Bell Orlando, FL Go to Website >
May 2	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Visualizing and Verbalizing Lindamood-Bell Las Cruces, NM Go to Website >
May 2	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Visualizing and Verbalizing Lindamood-Bell Montreal, QC Go to Website >
May 2	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Visualizing and Verbalizing Lindamood-Bell Providence, RI Go to Website >
May 3	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Lindamood Phoneme Sequences Lindamood-Bell Las Cruces, NM Go to Website >
May 3	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Lindamood Phoneme Sequences Lindamood-Bell Montreal, QC Go to Website >
May 3	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Lindamood Phoneme Sequences Lindamood-Bell Providence, RI Go to Website >
May 4	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Talkies Lindamood-Bell Orlando, FL Go to Website >
May 4 - 6	Web-Connected Minds: How Technology Transforms Brains, Teaching and Attention 32nd Learning and the Brain Conference Arlington, VA Website >
May 7 - 11	Teacher Appreciation Week Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Nationwide Go to website >
May 7 - 13	Children's Book Week Children's Book Council Nationwide Go to website >
May 7 - 9	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Lindamood Phoneme Sequences Lindamood-Bell Orlando, FL Go to Website >
May 8	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Seeing Stars Lindamood-Bell Toronto, ON Go to Website >
May 8	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Seeing Stars Lindamood-Bell Roanoke, VA Go to Website >
May 8	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Visualizing and Verbalizing Lindamood-Bell Roanoke, VA Go to Website >
May 9	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Visualizing and Verbalizing Lindamood-Bell Toronto, ON Go to Website >
May 10	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: On Cloud Nine Math Lindamood-Bell Orlando, FL Go to Website >
May 10	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Lindamood Phoneme Sequences Lindamood-Bell Toronto, ON Go to Website >
May 10	Lindamood-Bell Professional Development Workshops: Lindamood Phoneme Sequences Lindamood-Bell Roanoke, VA Go to Website >
May 16 - 18	Eleventh National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute FPG Child Development Institute, The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Go to website >