LDC Background

The first learning difficulties support group was established in 1983 to address the needs of children with learning difficulties/learning disabilities and/or attention difficulties. The group provided support to their families and helped create an information network with teachers and other professionals.

The success of the first group led to other local parent support groups being formed throughout NSW. The rapid growth of local groups created the need for a state body to support parent groups and assist in the establishment of new groups.

The Learning Difficulties Coalition of NSW Inc. was formed in 1988.

What initially began as ‘parent support’ has now expanded into providing support for teachers, health and education professionals.

The LDC operates a free telephone helpline (school days during school hours) for anyone in NSW needing support and / or information about all aspects of learning difficulties (LDs).

Helpline enquiries cover a range of areas, such as information about assessment, strategies to support the child/adolescent at home, tutors who specialise in learning difficulties. We provide contact details for a range of specialists such as paediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, speech pathologists and occupational therapists. We respond to enquiries about support groups in the area, classroom accommodations, understanding a diagnosis, and provide help with associated issues of behaviour, bullying, social skills, school selections and more.

We also address issues related to a broad range of diagnoses including ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, ODD/CD, Specific Learning Disorders (eg. Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia), Reading Difficulties, Tourette Syndrome, and Developmental Language Disorder. Although we are NSW based, we do receive enquiries from all over Australia as other states do not have a central organisation such as the LDC.

As the LDC has grown, so has what we are able to offer. Our Seminar Series,  four held each year, offers attendees an amazing variety of speakers and topics relating to LD at a fraction of the price of most organisations.

Our focus has always been to provide quality, evidence-based seminars on current LD topics presented by experts in the field. Prior to the Covid pandemic our seminars were held face-to-face, however with the imposed restrictions we delved into online seminars and have found this format even more accessible than ever.

We are thrilled that on average 25% of our seminar attendees now come from regional NSW, and we also have many interstate attendees. For a list of previous seminars and speakers please see the ‘Past LDC Seminars’ page.

We are also delighted to offer a practical and informative range of publications. The Tool Kit Series contains a hand picked selection of the best articles related to a broad range of topics and are affordable and useful resources for parents, teachers and professionals. For further information about our available publications please see the link below.

As a not-for-profit organisation that has been supporting students with learning difficulties for over 30 years, we thank the many volunteers who have been involved on the LDC Management Committee in this time, as due to their dedication and commitment, the LDC has continued to flourish and looking forward, will continue to grow.