LD News is a free e-publication of the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). It is sent out monthly and addresses issues related to learning disabilities for parents, care-givers, educators, advocates and individuals with learning disabilities.

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A Word from NCLD
NCLD's Executive Director, James Wendorf, discusses the ways in which NCLD is working to help ease the daunting and ever-changing task of requesting accommodations for your children, so that their individual needs are met and they can achieve their full potential.

What's New from NCLD

• RTI Update:  Response to Intervention at the High School Level
  This month, find out about a report from the National High School Center titled, Meeting the Needs of Significantly Struggling Learners in High School: A Look at Approaches to Tiered Instruction that looks at the implementation of RTI at the secondary level and its impact on the delivery of effective instruction and on student progress during the secondary school years.
• November LD Talk Transcript Now Available:  "Accommodations-More than Just Extended Time"
  On Tuesday, November 13, 2007, Drs. Sheryl Lazarus and James Shriner joined NCLD’s LD Talk and helped interpret what current research is saying about accommodations and their impact on IEP team decision-making.  In addition, our experts offered practical information and guidance to help school-based IEP teams improve their current practices.  
• Kimberly Weber Named NCLD’s 2007 Bill Ellis Teacher Preparation Award Winner
  Dr. Drake Duane, a member of NCLD’s Board of Directors, former Professional Advisory Board member and former IDA President, presented Kimberly Weber of Chavez Elementary School in Long Beach, California, with the award at this year’s International Dyslexia Association (IDA) Conference in Dallas, Texas.
• NCLD Commissions Study on State Accommodations
  NCLD has commissioned a study on state assessment policies and their impact on determining which accommodations students may have access to for both instruction and assessment.  The policy recommendations in this report are guiding NCLD’s work with key Members of Congress.

Research Roundup
More About Accommodations 
NCLD's Director of Professional Services, Dr. Sheldon H. Horowitz, in keeping with this month’s LDNews theme of accommodations, offers key points and resources, including a new NCLD report for parents and educators to help make decisions about accommodations.

LD Champions
Having a learning disability does not limit a person's ability to be expressive or creative.  Each month, LD News spotlights the work of a person with LD and features their art, essays, or other expressions of what life is like for individuals with LD.
 
This month, read about 2007 Anne Ford Scholarship Award Honorable Mention, Monica Ranger, who always fills her plate with academic and extra curricular activities, in spite of her dyslexia.  “I never use my dyslexia as an excuse for doing poorly in school,” Monica says, “just an excuse to go above and beyond.”

This Month on Capitol Hill
NCLD’s monthly roundup of articles and happenings on Capitol Hill.  Features include:

• Corrections Released for IDEA Final Regulations
• Handbook for Parents on Accessing Services Provided Under NCLB
• And more!

• Reducing Poverty through Preschool Interventions
• The Science of Reading Instruction and No Child Left Behind
• What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy
• and More!

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