The Need

Learning disabilities  have the power to impair a child's ability to read, write, and learn.   Neurologically based, these disorders affect the brain's ability to process information. Unfortunately, the Department of Education is not able to identify properly all the children who suffer from learning disabilities, leading to insufficient provision of services or no services at all. The costs for private evaluations run from $5,000 - $10,000 ­­-- and that does not include attorneys' fees of $5,000 - $10,000 to advocate for educational services on their behalf. More importantly, the parents of the children we serve have few resources and little knowledge of the system, not even knowing where to begin.

A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects the brain's ability to process, store, and retrieve information. It has nothing to do with how smart a child is — many have above-average intelligence. Children with learning disorders exhibit a wide range of symptoms including problems with reading, mathematics, comprehension and organizational skills.

Untreated learning disabilities often lead to behavioral problems and low self-esteem, increasing the risk for more serious problems such as depression, substance abuse, crime and lifelong poverty.  Such problems become especially acute for low-income schoolchildren who typically go undiagnosed until it is too late, or who, if they are diagnosed, have no means to obtain effective treatment.  More than 80% of the New York City public schoolchildren with serious learning disabilities struggle for years and never receive their diplomas.