“Don’t apologize for who you are!”
Ashley Robyn Slater
Vocalist, Musician and Video Editor

From the Unique Minds Foundation calendar:

Ashley could have been the kind of LD student to struggle through the system unnoticed. However, when her brother showed signs of severe LD, her parents had Ashley tested as well. The written output disorder she was quietly suffering from was quickly diagnosed. “I am extremely lucky,” she says. “I would have just kept trying to hide it, as many LD girls do.” Ashley had a very supportive family that taught her to advocate for herself. “When others doubted my grey-area LD, I always had my mum to remind me that I wasn’t making it up.” She credits her family for her achieving a B.F.A. in Film from Simon Fraser University.

Ashley is now a professional musician and a freelance video editor, working regularly in Vancouver. Ashley considers her LD as being hand-in-hand with her creative mind. “If that means I can’t copy quickly, or I lose track of what order to do things in sometimes, so be it. I couldn’t imagine being wired any other way.”

Her advice: “Don’t apologize for who you are. If you don’t fit into a round hole, you’re a square peg – and that can make all the difference in achieving things most people could never dream of.”

About The Unique Minds Foundation
The Unique Minds Foundation is a registered charitable organization and has two main goals; to provide inspiration to young people with learning differences and to provide financial assistance to young people who otherwise would be unable to obtain the support that they need. The Foundation raises funds through sales of the Unique Minds calendar, through fundraising events and from corporate sponsorships and individual donations. The 2012 calendar is the sixth calendar published by the foundation and showcases individuals with learning differences who are achieving success in academics or other pursuits.

Calendar design by Azadeh Yaraghi, Gogo Telugo Creatives: www.gogotelugo.com
Photography by Jonathan Cruz, Jonathan Cruz Photography: www.jonathancruz.com

Unique Minds Foundation
uniqueminds@shaw.ca
T: 604.925.2357

Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta Annual Conference

animoto.com

The video begins with the ‘Definition of a Learning Disability’ –
How a person can
- Obtain
- Remember
- Recall
- Understand
- Organize

Click for more …

Magazine ad
Published in Our Voice Magazine (BCCPAC), Fall 2011

The ad above was designed as a challenge to old notions about effort: sometimes it is not enough to “try harder!”, whether we admonish ourselves or others with these words.

This is not to suggest it is wrong to make an honest effort, but some learning difficulties are more complicated than they appear on the surface, and thus require more attention and care than the occasional pep talk.

What do you think of the roll of motivation in coping with Learning Disabilities? What are some motivation and coping strategies that work for you? Please share your comments below, or write to us at info@ldabc.ca.

More information:

• Click here to download “Try harder!” is not enough (.PDF / Adobe Acrobat file).
• Visit Our Voice Magazine online.

• Monday, December 26, 2011 at 8:30 am ET/MT
• Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 5:25 am ET/MT

This documentary “takes an enlightening look at young people with a spectrum of learning differences… using their strengths to overcome their challenges.” You can find the official trailer and more information about I Can’t Do This But I Can Do That on the HBO Canada website.

At LDABC, we’re happy that HBO has taken a positive and genuinely thoughtful look at Learning Disabilities, and we’re looking forward to seeing I Can’t Do This But I Can Do That on TV in December. If you get a chance to see this important documentary, or if you have already seen it, send us your comments!

Eaton Arrowsmith School (EAS) is opening a branch of their school in Surrey, British Columbia in
September 2012. Currently, Eaton Arrowsmith School has branches in Vancouver and Victoria. The
school is designed to improve the cognitive functioning of children with learning disabilities and/or
attention disorders.

EAS Surrey (PDF)

Continue reading …
theage.com.au

Dear Minister Abbott,
The Learning Disabilities Association of BC (LDABC) is delighted to learn of your intentions to take the needs of children with learning disabilities most seriously as reported in the Vancouver Sun April 11, 2011.

We wish, in particular, to acknowledge your statement, “….from the perspective of brain development, our best opportunity is kindergarten to Grade 4.The sooner assessments are made and difficulties are diagnosed, the better off we are.”

After years of advocating for early identification and intervention, LDABC welcomes the news that The Ministry of Education plans early screening for learners with unexplained difficulties.

The complete version of this letter (PDF)

REGISTER NOW !

Online registration form
Fill out the Online registration form and email it or fax it to us
Fax : 604.873.8140
Email: info@ldav.ca

Call us at 604.873.8139 and we’ll take your registration over the phone

The 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Association will be held at:

Kwantlen Polytechnic University  -  Boardroom 1420

Richmond Campus  -  8771 Landsdowne Road

May 7th 2011 at 9:30am – 12:30pm

For the following purposes:

1. To receive the report of the chair

2. To receive the financial statements for the year ended March 31 2011.

3. To receive the reports of the Standing Committees

4. To receive Chapter reports

5. To elect the 2011 – 2012 board of Directors

By order of the board

2011

Raymond To

Board Development Committee Chair