LDA Blog

The Learning Difficulties Australia 2021 AGM occurred on Saturday 18th September, 2021 at 11am. The retiring council was thanked and a new council and President were welcomed. Please click here to view the reports from the meeting and here to view the new President's address.

Council has approved the 2021 Annual General Meeting for Learning Difficulties Australia to be held via Zoom on Saturday, 18 September at 11am AEST. Please register in advance for this meeting via the following link: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Members who wish to include agenda items for the meeting are invited to do so either through email to enquiries@ldaustralia.org or be posted to PO Box 382, Epping, NSW 1710.  Nominations are now being called for positions on LDA Council for 2021/2022. All positions on Council are for a one-year term of office, from the end of the 2021 AGM to the end of the 2022 AGM. We look forward to receiving nominations from LDA members who are committed to LDA's future and its mission. Nominations for ordinary member of Council or honorary officer positions can be emailed or posted. Please click here to view the nomination process and here for the nomination form. Nominations should reach the Secretary no later than 10pm AEST on Thursday 19 August 2021, and may be submitted by email to: enquiries@ldaustralia.org. Please indicate in the subject line: Nomination for LDA Council. Alternatively, nominations can be posted to PO Box 382, Epping, NSW 1710, and must arrive by close of mail on the same day. Please mark the envelope: Nomination for LDA Council.

The Biennial 2021 Joint Conference for Learning Difficulties is hosted by Speld Qld, LSTAQ and LDA and will be held on 16 and 17 September 2021 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The theme for this year's Conference is Relevance and Revelations: Responding to Learning Difficulties. The Conference will consist of both formal presentations and a series of interactive workshops. Topics include theory and practice workshops and papers. Keynote Speakers Professor Pamela Snow Thursday 16 September 2021 Toni Hatten Roberts Friday 17 September 2021

"The Science of Writing" course will be run over 6 weeks starting 11th October 2021. This course will cover handwriting, grammar and sentences, paragraphs and essays. Presenting these sessions are three of Australia's most highly respected professions in this field. This course is aimed at any educator interested in learning practical, evidence-based and results driven strategies that can be applied both in mainstream classes, small group and individualised support. Online | Commences Monday 11 October 2021, 7:30pm - 9:00pm AEST. Participants will have access to recordings of each session. LDA Members $160 | Non-members $200 Not a member of LDA? Join now to access the discounted event price and more! Sessions 1 & 2: Handwriting | Robyn Bartram Many students commence school before establishing hand dominance and without an effective or efficient pencil grip. Others may struggle to learn how to form individual letters correctly, often starting in the wrong place and not positioning their letters on the writing line. Students who exhibit these early difficulties often go on to be unable to spell and write whole words, leave spaces between words, write coherent sentences, logical paragraphs and stories. In this two-part webinar, participants will be introduced to the evidence-based strategies and activities to help students engage and make progress with their early writing skills. The impact of motor, executive, attentional and learning dysfunction on writing will be discussed and participants will learn some strategies to use to promote participation and improve performance in handwriting. Sessions 3 & 4: Words & Grammar | Lyn Stone The word "grammar" has been known to come with connotations of dry, boring pedantry. Its importance in a primary curriculum has been questioned for many years, and the answer has been disappointing (to grammar-loving folk anyway). Formal grammar teaching beyond “A noun is a naming word, a verb is a doing word…” has all but left building, but Lyn Stone wants to bring it back in. In this two-part workshop, Lyn will present an argument that knowing what the parts of speech are really doing, why they’re put in their categories in the first place, and how to teach all that is an advantage to any teacher committed to raising the quality of writing instruction in the classroom. The presentation, of course, will have much room for questions and queries. Grammar is a deep and broad subject and requires robust discussion. Leave these sessions armed with ready-to-use tools to teach grammar, syntax and morphology in ways that don't just let grammar back into the building, but throw open the doors and shout, “Get in here, you foxy minx!” Sessions 5 & 6: Sentences, Paragraphs & Essays | Jenny Baker The construction of extended written text is a complex process; it draws on multiple processes of ideation, language structure and mechanics. Students who struggle to write cohesively and coherently benefit from the provision of explicit (and reliable) “formulas” that help them navigate their way through the macrostructure of each text type. In this two-part webinar, participants will be introduced to an issue-based text “formula” and a narrative-based text “formula”. In addition, the specific language features associated with each text type will be explored and examples will be provided. Participants will learn how to teach emphasis, imagery and atmosphere via specific linguistic devices. Robyn Bartram After studying Occupational Therapy in Melbourne, Robyn worked at Preston and Northcote Community Hospital where she first encountered children with Developmental Coordination Disorder and began to develop techniques to improve their handwriting skills. Later Robyn worked at the Queen Victoria Hospital, with babies and new mothers. Following a period working at Western General Hospital with adults, Robyn worked at Lincoln Institute teaching in the physical therapy team. Robyn moved to the United Kingdom in 1981 and established the Occupational Therapy service as part of the first Early Childhood Intervention Centre in South East Kent. Back in Melbourne, Robyn commenced her own private practice, in 1995, focussing on handwriting and fine motor skills. From 2003 until 2013 Robyn worked in a part-time capacity with the Hand Therapy team at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Since 2013, Robyn has concentrated fully on her private practice, which she operates with the assistance of a part-time contractor. Lyn Stone Lyn is an educational linguist and author. She lives and works in Victoria, Australia where she runs her consultancy and tutoring practice, Lifelong Literacy. Lyn creates research-informed professional development seminars for teachers and other education professionals. Her goal is to help teachers awaken linguistic curiosity in their students using creative, engaging tools and strategies that are based upon scientific consensus as to what constitutes best practice. Lyn has extensive classroom-teaching experience and is regularly employed by schools on a contractual basis to provide specialist literacy education for groups of at-risk students as well as training for teachers. Her three books, Spelling for Life, Language for Life and Reading for Life have been well-received worldwide. Jenny Baker Jenny is a Speech pathologist who has been working in the area of spelling and written expression for over 30 years. She is one of the directors of Fremantle Speech Pathology Services, a busy private practice in Perth that works almost exclusively with school aged children. Jenny is also involved in the clinical education of speech pathology students, equipping them with the knowledge and experience required to operate in school-based settings.

After many months of hard work, the team at Learning Difficulties Australia is excited to launch our new website!