PITTSBURGH, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- National medical experts on environmental threats to children's health and development will speak at an environmental health symposium at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, February 14, 2007. The symposium is part of the Learning Disabilities Association of America's Annual Conference, and will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Registration is open to the public.
The number of children with learning disabilities, attentional disorders, Asperger's Syndrome, autism and related problems has drastically increased in recent years. This symposium explores several environmental "neurotoxicants" such as mercury, lead, pesticides and other chemicals, and how they affect brain development in the developing fetus and infants, resulting in learning and behavioral problems in childhood and into the adult years.
The symposium is one of the events scheduled throughout the year in the Pittsburgh area to commemorate the centennial of Rachel Carson's birth. Carson, a native of Springdale, Pa., was a founder of the modern environmental movement whose groundbreaking book, "Silent Spring," focused public attention on the threats to environmental and human health caused by certain toxic chemicals.
Learning Disabilities Association of America
