ST. LOUIS LEARNING DISABILITIES ASSOCIATION Children need hope, understanding and compassion to learn and reach their full potential. St. Louis LDA helps children by giving them, their parents and their teachers the education

and support necessary to achieve success – not just in the classroom, but also in life.

In 2015, LDA served thousands of children, parents and educators

through 31,107 direct interactions in our programs.

Together, we are making a difference!

St. Louis LDA was born out of a grassroots effort in the community in 1967 to give parents the ability to educate themselves and advocate for the educational rights of their children. By building a solid reputation of looking at the whole child and giving parents the support they need to be their child’s voice, the organization was able to grow from hosting parent support groups in 1993 to providing a comprehensive range of services for children, parents and academic professionals today. LDA has made an impact on over 32,000 children, parents and educators in the greater St. Louis area.

OUR HISTORY

While each of our programs has specific goals within the scope of the services offered, overall our expectation is that each child we encounter will discover his/her unique abilities and obtain the tools needed to flourish in school as independent thinkers, problem solvers and avid learners.

Our students will demonstrate marked improvement academically and have the skills and confidence to employ self-advocacy with their parents, teachers and other professionals who are working together for their success. Not only will they be positively affected while they are in school, but their ability to function as capable, self-sufficient learners and actively engage others will carry forward into adulthood with a life-changing impact.

In a time of economic uncertainty and continuous educational cutbacks, LDA is committed to sustaining programs that provide invaluable assistance to anyone who turns to us for help.

OUR GOALS

 Our year-round comprehensive educational services are comprised of several programs to help students learn, grow and achieve, and also to educate their parents and their teachers on how to work together for each child’s success.

• Early Childhood Outreach Program – Last year LDA consultants had 8,810 interactions with 1,800 preschool children as we partnered with 41 early childhood centers to train and support educators & families and enrich the learning environment for every child in each classroom.

• One-on-one Tutoring – Last year 5,293 personalized tutoring sessions were held by 18 trained specialists to give effective training and assistance to 193 students with a variety of learning disability diagnoses.

• Workshops and Educational Seminars – We conducted 101 workshops and seminars for 2,596 parents and educators last year covering a broad range of topics to teach them how to help children succeed.

• Summer Study Skills Classes – Students in grades 5-8 learn special techniques to overcome their learning disabilities and improve their reading comprehension & writing skills – giving them the ability to take good notes, study effectively and perform well on tests.

• Cognitive Educational Evaluations – Our trained educational diagnosticians served 238 children this past year.

• Family Advocacy Outreach – To help parents navigate the complex world of special education, last year we provided individual consultation and personalized advocacy to 147 families.

OUR PROGRAMS

In 2015, LDA subsidized over $369,000 worth of services through reduced rates and need-based financial aid in order to serve families and educators at little or no cost, giving children with learning challenges and disabilities across the greater St. Louis community access to quality education.

In over 98% of cases we see significant changes for each child as a result of our services, not just in improved grades at school, but also in the development of independent learning skills, self-esteem, classroom participation, peer interactions and self-advocacy. For these children, success in the classroom means hope for continued success – both personally and professionally – for a lifetime.

OUR SUCCESS

“St Louis LDA has been an invaluable resource for families of children with learning disabilities. Everyday they touch the lives of children who are struggling to learn. In my case, they provided tutoring for my children which helped them succeed in school. They are now productive adults with excellent jobs. Thank you LDA!” Parent

“LDA has been a force of support for our Head Start Program and our families. LDA has provided intervention stategies to be implemented by our classroom teachers with children who have potential delays. Our teachers would be lost without LDA.” Early Childhood Center Director

“I am a special educator and have referred many parents to LDA so that they can access the variety of services LDA provides. All parents rave about the services provided by LDA and are thrilled that they have found people who truly understand how their child learns and how it impacts the entire family! All of them, without exception, have told me they feel like they have a lifeline and that it is a blessing to have a nonprofit organization in St. Louis that actually understands learning disabilities and provides services that are reasonable and many services that are free. The number of people they help in the community is phenomenal and St. Louis is lucky to have so many professionals that care about kids!” Special Educator

For additional information, visit us online at www.ldastl.org.

View our nonprofit profile at GuideStar.org.