Learning Disability Institute,Successful approaches for best practices in academic teaching and the prevention and remediation of Learning Disabilities.

LDI is a national, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, whose mission is to determine and disseminate successful approaches to and provide scholarships for diagnostics, prevention and treatment for persons of all ages with Learning Disabilities.

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Dissemination of Successful Approaches

Successful approaches for best practices in academic teaching and in the prevention and remediation, for most forms of Specific Learning Disabilities, have been developed. Several of these approaches are "research based", because they have significant scientific research to document their successes. Others, which have shown their value, have been used by a few private clinics for several years. Because of their continued successes in positively changing lives, scientists, in the near future, will give us significant scientific research evidence of their value. Each of these approaches need to be disseminated to all students including and especially those determined to have Specific Learning Disabilities. Few educator trainers, regular education teachers, special education teachers and clinicians are trained in these approaches. Proficiency training, which should include ongoing supervision, for those teaching students must be thorough.

To become a trainer of teachers or master trainers, one must become very proficient by receiving the initial training and supervision, as well as instruction on teaching the teachers. Once regular and special educators receive the proper training, the significant reading and other academic problems that millions of our children and adults have in this country will be minimized. It is estimated that up to 70% of the children and adults who are considered Learning Disabled will become self sufficient in the skills which had heretofore alluded them. This will not only make unsuccessful people, successful, but will positively effect the variety of other problems, in our society, which can be directly or indirectly linked to low self-esteem and failure of these individuals.

To expedite availability of teachers and clinicians who can provide these approaches to the children and adults in need, the Learning Disability Institute proposes, as its two most significant goals to:

Intensively and thoroughly train Certified Instructors (the teachers on the front line).

Intensively and thoroughly train Certified Master Trainers (the trainers of teachers).

Certified Instructors(CI's):
In the beginning two qualified instructors who have teacher or appropriate clinical training, and are willing to commit to at least three years of employment where they will receive training, supervision and coaching, and be expected to take on the recruitment, testing and teaching of Specific Learning Disabled children who are financially needy and after they are Certified Instructors to in the second year continue that work and become the trainer of newly qualified beginning instructors seeking Instructor Certification.

Certified Master Trainers(CMT's):
The training to become an LDI CMT will occur through the first and second year of their tenure. Upon thorough evaluation of their skills as as an instructor and trainer of new instructors who wish to become Certified, the person who meets the required standards of excellence will become a Certified Master Trainer.

LDI would prefer to have a nation that has programs in every community which would train the trainers (CMT's) because more teachers could in turn be trained by them and more persons who struggle with learning academic skills and/or have LD issues, would then be appropriately and more speedily served.

Additional Training Opportunities from LDI
One, two, three, four and five day trainings will be available. These will be both broad and specific based seminars/workshops. They will all be based on parts of the master curriculum and with appropriate supervision in the practice of that which has been trained may meet the standards required to be a Certified Instructor.

The general areas will be:

Training in Diagnostic Evaluation.

Training in the Development of and Teaching Approaches Required to Instruct/Treat Students in:

Attention and Short Term Memory

Elements of Phonological Awareness
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Sight Word Memory

Rapid Word Naming

Reading Comprehension

Critical Thinking

Spelling

Listening Comprehension
Written Expression

Handwriting

Oral Expression

Mathematics Calculation

Mathematics Reasoning

Training in Supervision/Coaching and Presentation for Training Instructors

By emphasizing the training of the trainers, we expect more persons who struggle with learning academic skills and/or have LD issues, to be appropriately and more speedily served.

Scholarship Goals

For Treatment
Scholarship monies will, in the beginning, be required for 10 financially needy children and as the program matures for both children and adults who will be served through record review, additional testing for treatment planning and evaluation of results and for the special treatment/teaching required to effect the positive change necessary for overcoming the person's Learning Disabilities.

Depending upon the extensiveness of a person's Learning Disabilities and how much appropriate testing has already been done, the testing to diagnose the exact nature of what areas need treatment/instruction can range from $500.00 to $1500.00.

Treatment for one year, which must and will mostly be done one-on-one will cost $10,000.00. It is expected that the majority of students will obtain completion in one to two years. This will depend, in each case, upon how many learning disabilities exist and the severity of them.

For Training
Training for the educators/clinicians who wish to become Certified Instructors, will start a month prior to the beginning of instruction for the children and continue in the afternoons after the last child has left and on the weekends. It is estimated that the cost of training will be $10,000.00. per instructor.

Those wishing further information about first becoming a Certified Instructor and then a Certified Master Instructor or in receiving information about the various additional training opportunities should contact Denton M. Kurtz, M.Ed., Executive and Clinical Director of LDI.

For those of you who are already serious about this opportunity, should send your resume, along with an essay stating your reasons for wanting to become a CI and CMT ,and your willingness to commit to at least the three years and the mission of LDI, to Denton Kurtz at the address below.

A stringent evaluation will be conducted and will include a background check, character and personality references, information from those who have had personal experience with your cooperativeness when working with one and more colleagues, your manner and competency when instructing and presenting (to include colleagues and students), and testing to make sure that you do not have learning anomalies which would interfere with the needed precision of instruction/treatment

LDI, Inc. c/o Denton M. Kurtz 1201 Louisiana Ave. Winter Park, FL 32789 Fax 407 629-6886	Inquiries may also be e-mailed to dentonkurtz@ldinstitute.org
Other inquiries may be directed to the same address or by calling Mr. Kurtz directly at: (407) 628-2080.

All donations are greatly appreciated. Please make your tax-deductible check (in U.S. dollars) payable to, LDI, Inc. and mail to: 1201 Louisiana Ave. Suite B.

Winter Park, Florida 32789. The Learning Disability Institute (LDI, Inc.) has been approved by the State of Florida and the United States Department of Internal

Revenue to solicit contributions as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, publicly supported organization working with professionals, teachers, and parents, providing diagnosis,training, treatment and research in the field of Learning Disabilities.