St. Louis Learning Disabilities Association

In 2023, St. Louis LDA served students, parents, families, and educators in the greater St. Louis area through almost 40,000 interactions and provided over $1950,000 in specialized services to the community through reduced rates and direct need-based financial aid.

The COVID pandemic has had a significant impact on both education outcomes and mental/behavioral health. We continue to see an increased need for services across all programs– and with that an increased need for family financial assistance – due to what has been termed “education’s long COVID.” The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), the nation’s non-profit creator of academic assessments, has found that pandemic recovery has essentially stalled for most students and according to new data, upper elementary and middle school students lost ground in 2023 in reading and math. Black and Hispanic students incurred greater impacts with scores indicating a decline 38% higher than that of same-age White students. St. Louis LDA's support is crucial to bridging the gap between what is needed and what schools can provide. We have increased our services across all programs, including our referral processes for children needing further evaluation for mental health services.