A Community Approach to Specific School Learning Disabilities: The Omaha STAAR Project.

This paper outlines a program designed to help the educational, medical, and parent sectors of the greater Omaha area to better understand the problems of specific learning disabilities and the minimal brain dysfunction syndrome. The evolution of the project and its various components are described. The program is presented as a series of guidelines for other communities interested in dealing with the multifaceted needs of children with these problems, guidelines which may enable a community to avoid some obstacles and pitfalls in implementing such a program. The Omaha Project is in its fourth year, is gaining momentum rapidly, and is spreading statewide. Improved attitudes and a better spirit of cooperation between the educational, medical, and parent sectors of the community are increasingly evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]