Did you know that air pollution can affect children’s ability to think?

EPA’s proposal to roll back vehicle emissions standards will pollute our air with toxic chemicals that harm children’s developing brains, putting them at higher risk for learning and behavior challenges.

The EPA’s dirty car proposal is the WRONG DIRECTION for North Texas families!

Please show your support for clean air by signing our petition and then share with family and friends.

Live in Dallas Fort Worth area? Please join the Learning Disabilities Association of Texas on October 11^th to show support for cleaner air for all children in North Texas.   

The media vent will take place on Thursday, October 11th at 4 PM at Anderson Bonner Park, 12000 Park Central Drive, Dallas, TX 75251 (*at the southwest corner of Park Central Drive and LBJ Freeway directly across from Watermark Community Church). If you can join us for this important event, please RSVP here.

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MEDIA ADVISORY:                                            

For Information, Contact:

Kim Rice – 214-354-2234 – kdrice@att.net

Fuel for Thought: Why Kids’ Brains Depend on Strong Vehicle Emission Standards

In DFW, Poor Air Can Mean Poor Thinking

What: At the end of a DFW summer with more RED air days than in the past six years, the Learning Disabilities Association of Texas is joining with the Mom’s Clean Air Force, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and concerned citizens to bring attention to the big problem of poor air quality affecting kids’ brains in North Texas and to call for the EPA to maintain strong vehicle emissions standards.

While the medical community and public historically connect unhealthy ozone and smog to asthma and lung disease, mounting evidence shows that damaged brain health can be a less apparent, but highly significant, result.

Why: With the EPA poised to roll back vehicle emissions standards, North Texas parents, physicians, teachers and nurses are speaking out. The EPA is taking comments until October 26.

Join Speakers:

• Beth McGaw, Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) President
• Dale W. Stovall, MD, OB/GYN, ACOG District XI
• Dee Dee Belmares, Texas Field Consultant, Mom’s Clean Air Force
• Pam Smith, RN, Nurse, LDA-Texas Board, and LDA’s Healthy Children Project
• Parents, teachers, health care providers and children

When: Thursday, October 11 at 4 PM

Where: Anderson Bonner Park, 12000 Park Central Drive, Dallas, TX 75251 (at the southwest corner of Park Central Drive and LBJ Freeway directly across from Watermark Community Church)

Photo Opportunities – besides the presence of multiple stakeholders, children will be:

• reading a letter to the EPA
• playing soccer wearing bad-air-day masks
• holding signs

Action: We have until October 26th to tell EPA to uphold strong clean car standards and protect children’s health, so concerned citizens are asked to sign the petition today and share with family and friends.

Key Information:

• DFW had more red ozone days this summer than in the last six years.
• Dallas is the 16^th most polluted city in the country in the nation for ozone (American Lung Association).
• More than 100 peer-reviewed studies and reports correlated air pollution with a negative impact on fetal and children’s brain health, including strong links to autism and ADHD, as well as deficits in IQ and cognition.
• A study published this month in Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences indicates that breathing polluted air is linked to a “steep reduction” in scores on verbal and math tests.
• In 2016, scientists and health professionals published a consensus statement in Environmental Health Perspectives stating that combustion-related air pollution is increasing children’s risks for learning and behavior disorders.
• Dozens of scientific studies indicate air pollution exposures to pregnant women can do lasting harm to fetal brain development.
• In Endocrinology, a report indicates that epidemiologic literature on the detrimental impacts of air pollution on brain development, cognition and behavior in children has exponentially increased in the last decade.
• A prospective cohort study published in PLOS Medicine shows an association between traffic-related air pollution in schools and cognitive development in primary school children.
• A study released this month in JAMA Pediatrics says the number of kids in the U.S. diagnosed with ADHD has “increased from 6.1% in 1997-98 to 10.2% in 2015-2016,” with the rate of diagnosis doubling for girls (3.1% to 6.1%) and increasing in boys (9% to 14%).

Take Away: EPA’s proposal to roll back fuel efficiency and vehicle emissions standards will pollute our air with particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and other toxic chemicals that damage children’s developing brains. The EPA’s dirty car proposal is the WRONG DIRECTION for North Texas families!

The mission of the Learning Disabilities Association of Texas is to create an environment that supports, informs and empowers individuals with learning disabilities throughout their lifespan. More information is available on the LDA-Texas website, www.ldatx.org, or by emailing: contact@ldatx.org.