October is LD Awareness Month

Welcome!

October 2006

The theme for the national awareness campaign this October

LD and Mental Health: Is there a Higher Risk?

illustrates how mental health issues are not the cause, but rather the consequence, of academic frustrations and continued failures.

There are certain aspects of learning disabilities which increase the risk for an individual to experience mental health issues. Failure to identify a learning disability at an early age and to consequently delay the provision of intensive, individualized instruction results in school failure. A child who was well-adjusted as a five or six year old can acquire overlays of emotional disturbance after years of school failure. Anxiety and depression would be likely experiences for such a child from the age of nine or ten.

Certain specific learning disabilities are characterized by perceptual deficits, including misinterpretation of facial expression, body language, or verbal cues that lead to awkward social interactions. These, along with impulsivity associated with ADHD, contribute to generally poor social skills, which in turn lead to alienation or social conflict.

Individuals of all ages with learning disabilities and ADHD are subject to ridicule from peers and are often the objects of bullying behaviors. Low self-esteem is a frequent by-product of learning disabilities.

School failure leads to disassociation from school settings, and the adolescent and teen with learning disabilities who has not received proper academic supports and services runs a higher risk than average for becoming involved with tobacco, alcohol and drugs. School drop-out is linked strongly to functional illiteracy; teens who drop out are at high risk of becoming involved in illegal activities and eventual incarceration, and for becoming teen mothers and fathers. Teen addictions, aggressive and other anti-social behaviors, and risky pregnancies are therefore linked to learning disabilities and ADHD.

Key Messages

LD Awareness Month is not about making a political statement. The goal of the LD Awareness Month campaign is to generate grassroots activities that will raise Canadian awareness of learning disabilities and the challenges faced by these individuals and their families. The campaign also aims to encourage everyone in the learning disabilities community to make time during October to share with the public what it is they do and how it contributes to the overall well-being of the community. It’s that simple. Ultimately, we hope to increase support for research, identification, education, training, and access to equitable services for individuals with learning disabilities.

How to Participate in LD Awareness Month

GET INVOLVED. Throughout the month of October, all national and provincial/territorial Learning Disabilities Associations, and chapters and the thousands of professionals involved with learning disabilities will be hard at work organizing local events and participating in activities that will introduce Canadians to learning disabilities.

From researchers to teachers and practitioners everyone involved in the learning disabilities field is encouraged to organize local public education and outreach activities.