Forum on Children, Learning Disabilities

Actor Edward James Olmos, psychologists and other specialists will participate in a breakfast forum about new opportunities available to youngsters with learning disabilities Thursday at the campus of the H.E.L.P. Group.

Olmos--known for his roles in the television drama “Miami Vice” and the film “Stand and Deliver’--will speak about his personal struggle with dyslexia and answer questions posed by learning-disabled children.

Paul Satz, psychiatry chief of UCLA’s Neuropsychology Program, will discuss the long-term opportunities available to learning-disabled students. A number of experts from UCLA, USC, Cal State Northridge and Valley College will participate in a panel about higher-education options for students with learning disabilities.

“For such a long time, learning disabilities have been stigmatized and have held people back,” said Mary Cadorette, a H.E.L.P. Group spokeswoman. “With the evolution of the decade, I believe that more programs will . . . make educational opportunities available to the learning disabled as well as others.”

The H.E.L.P. Group is a family of nonprofit organizations serving children, adolescents, young adults and families struggling with abuse, neglect, emotional disturbance, retardation, autism and learning disabilities through educational and therapeutic programs.

Thursday’s event, sponsored by the county branch of the Orton Dyslexia Society and underwritten by the Bank of America Foundation, is free and open to the public. It begins at 8 a.m. in the H.E.L.P. Group’s auditorium, 13130 Burbank Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

For information and reservations, call (818) 779-5211.