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Learning Disabilities of Ontario

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Human Resources Department of Canada

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Statistcs on Learning Disabilities

Published by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, April 1997.

1.         One in ten (or 3 million) Canadians has learning disabilities.

Reference:

  • The CELDIC (Commission on Emotional and Learning Disorders in Children) Report in 1970 uses 10-15% of the Canadian population as an educated estimate, which is borne out by the 1986 Learning Disabilities: Report to the US Congress prepared by an Interagency Committee investigating many aspects of learning disabilities.

2.         Learning disabilities are a congenital neurological condition, which have impacts on the lives of children and adults, and affect all facets of human functioning, including social functioning.

Reference:

  • Report on neurological basis, The Lancet, February 1990.

3.        Typically, only 3% of school-age children with learning disabilities receive special services within their schools -- the majority of students with learning disabilities are either unidentified or receive minimal service.

References:

  • Ontario Ministry of Education, 1988/89 Statistics Report.

4.         Almost 50% of adolescent suicides had previously been diagnosed as having learning

disabilities.

References:

  • Dr. Peck (1985) "Crisis intervention treatment with chronically and acutely suicidal adolescents." Youth Suicide (pp112-122), New York: Springer
  • Rourke (1989) "A Childhood Learning Disability that Predisposes Those Afflicted to Adolescents and Adult Depression and Suicide Risk" Journal of Learning Disabilities, Volume 22, Number 3 (pp. 169-175) and numerous other studies.

5.         The effects of learning disabilities can be long-term and far-reaching. Research shows that 30% - 70% of young offenders and inmates have experienced learning problems. In the past two decades, the link between learning disabilities and being involved in delinquent behaviour has been examined and confirmed in both Canada and United States. The issues that are most frequently discussed are the nature of the linkage, the identification of learning disabilities, and their incidence and remedial implications.

References:

  • Murray, D.A. (1976) "The Link between Learning Disabilities and Juvenile Delinquency: Current Theory and Knowledge, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
  • Dr. Peggy Koopman (1983) University of British Columbia, "Cognitive Disorders and Syntactical Deficiencies in the Inmate Populations of Federal Penitentiaries in Canada", Report to the Solicitor General of Canada.
  • Dr. Carol Crealock (1978) University of Western Ontario, "Juvenile Delinquency: The Canadian Perspective" Behavioural Disorder 3: 309-13
  • 1987a: "The Learning Disabilities/Juvenile Delinquency Link: Causation or Correlation", Ottawa: Ministry of the Solicitor General.
  • 1987b: "The relationship between learning disabilities and delinquent behaviour", Learning Disabilities 1:55

6.             Adults with learning disabilities, who have not received appropriate education and/or training, typically hold a job for only three months. Employers when questioned, report that the reason for termination in most cases related to the person's social skills deficits rather than to any job skill problems.

Reference:

  • Ontario Ministry of Labour, Handicapped Employment Program

7.         The Ontario Ministry of Skills Development's Evaluation of Literacy and Basic Skills Initiatives, prepared by Woods Gordon Management Consultant in 1988, states, " All groups indicated they had difficulty identifying the learning disabled and delivering services to these individuals. This becomes a particularly serious issue considering research, which indicates that, as many as 30% - 50% of all basic level adult learners have some form of learning disability. Many groups contacted did not feel well equipped or trained to deliver services to these learners".

Reference:

  • The Ontario Ministry of Skills and Development, Evaluation of Literacy and Basic Skills Initiatives, prepared by Woods Gordon Management Consultant in 1988

8.         Provinces differ in their organization of services for children with learning disabilities. In a survey conducted by the Canadian Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) in 1988, 5 of the 10 provinces and both territories reported either that they did not categorize children at all or that children with mild handicaps received non-categorical services. It should be noted that the five provinces provide specific services for students with learning disabilities also represent 80% of the child population of Canada.

Reference:

  • "A Canadian Perspective on Learning Disabilities", by Judith Wiener and Linda Siegel, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 25, Number 6, June/July 1992 pp. 340-355.

9.         The proportions of children formally identified as having a learning disability in the five provinces providing categorical service varied widely, according the 1988 CEC survey, with Quebec identifying 10.2% of its child population, Nova Scotia 7%, Ontario 3.1%, Saskatchewan 1.7%, and British Columbia 1.3%.

Reference:

  • "A Canadian Perspective on Learning Disabilities", by Judith Wiener and Linda Siegel, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 25, Number 6, June/July 1992 pp. 340-355.

10.       Very little, if any, attention is being paid to the correlation between school failure (including dropping out) and children and youth who come into conflict with the law.

In 1991, 20% of 20 year-olds had not completed high school:

  • 62% of leavers had grade 10 or less;

  • 32% of leavers had grade 9 or less;

  • Leavers were most likely to come from single or no parent homes with lower socio-economic backgrounds;

  • 33% of leavers came from high-risk backgrounds. It is important to note that a similar number were 'average' to 'bright' learners who came from good backgrounds.

  • Equally surprising, are the ages they were when they left school:

  • 17% were 14 or 15 years old, younger than the minimum school leaving age of 16;

  • 21% were 16 years old;

  • Thus, almost 40% of the leavers were 16 or younger when they left school. In the current economic climate, the labour force prospects for young people with grade 10 education or less are very slim.

Reference:

  • "Leaving School" prepared under contract to Human Resources, Labour Canada, Education, Cultural & Tourism Division, Statistics Canada, September (1993)

  • 22% of all Canadians are illiterate.

  • An additional 16% are so uncomfortable with reading or writing that they avoid it at all costs.

Reference:

  • Statistics Canada, "Adult Literacy in Canada" (1991).