Honored with the Howard County Board of Education, Friends of Education Award

IDL, Individual Differences in Learning Association Inc., is a parent-led, non-profit organization, promoting awareness, understanding and change in the approach to educating and supporting students. Our purpose is to provide information, training and support for teachers, students, parents and others concerned with the education, health and social and emotional well being of different learners.

Different learners are those who exhibit high cognitive ability or specific gifts and talents as well as neuro-biological differences. These differences may result in academic and/or social challenges in a traditional learning environment. Different learners do not conform to the stereotypes for gifted or special education and are commonly described as Twice Exceptional, Gifted/Learning Disabled, Gifted Underachievers. They may be diagnosed with ADHD. They are often misunderstood resulting in a tendency for some to think of them as lazy or unmotivated. We work closely with the Howard County Public School System to provide professional development for teaching staff. We support families and educate parents through:

• Monthly meetings, second Monday of the month
• Guest speakers
• Gifted/LD/ADHD Online support group
• Telephone message line
• IDL Website
• Book Discussions
• Partnerships with related organizations