Food for thought

Sometimes you read a collection of facts that make you sit up and take notice. I came across these statistics on the impact of learning disabilities recently and wanted to share them here. From the number of us impacted by LDs, to the economic, personal and social costs, they'll probably have a big impact on you too.

Thanks to Carla Warwick and the gang at the Learning Disabilities Association of North Peel for allowing us to share this information on our blog.


1. Learning disabilities are a congenital neurological condition, which impacts the lives of children, youth and adults and affects all aspects of human functioning, including social functioning.
Reference: Report on neurological basis, The Lancet, February 1990.

2. One in ten Canadians has learning disabilities or 3 million Canadians.
References: 1970 Commission on Emotional and Learning Disorders in Children.

3. According to principals who participated in the first cycle of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), an average of 12% of children in their schools had a learning disability.
Reference:1997 Education Quarterly Review, Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 81-003-XPB, Vol. 4, no. 2 - Initial Results from the School Component, NLSCY.

4. One in 10 children received some form of remedial education during 1994-95. Children receiving remedial education often have multiple problems with the most common difficulties being a learning disability (51%) or an emotional or behavioral problem (23%).
Reference:1997 Education Quarterly Review, Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 81-003-XPB, Vol. 4, no. 2 - Initial Results from the School Component, NLSCY.

5. 35% of students identified with learning disabilities drop out of high school. This is twice the rate of non-disabled peers and does not include students who are not identified and drop out.
Reference: Washington Summit on Learning Disabilities, 1994.

6. The Conference Board of Canada determined that dropouts from the high school class of 1987 will cost society more than $1.7 billion in lost taxes.
Reference:1997, Dr. Doherty, Zero to Six: The Basis for School Readiness, HRDC.

7. 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 Emploment Program

8. 45.6% of adult inmates with learning disabilities have previous youth court involvement.
Reference:1995, Learning Disabilities Among Canada's Federal Inmate Population, Larry Motiuk, Ph.D., Correctional Services Canada.

9. 50% of females with learning disabilities will be mothers within 3 to 5 years of leaving high school.
Reference:1994,Washington Summit on Learning Disabilities.

10. 15% to 20% of Canadians with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) also have a specific learning disabilities.
Reference: Dr. Dan Offord, Ontario Child Health Study, Chedoke-McMaster Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario.

11. 80% of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have a specific learning disability while 30% of children with learning disabilities have ADHD. Almost all children who have ADHD are identified in the school system as having a behavioral exceptionality.
Reference: Dr. Dan Offord, Ontario Child Health Study, Chedoke-McMaster Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario.

12. 30% of adults with severe literacy problems were found to have undetected or untreated LD. Reference: National Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center, 1994

13. 75% of children with reading disabilities in grade 3 who did not receive early intervention, continue to have difficulties learning to read throughout high school and their adult life.
Reference: Dr. Reid Lyon's testimony before the Committee on Education and the Workforce, a committee of The US House of Representatives, July 10, 1997.

14. In a self-reported study conducted in Atlantic Canada, 13,549 students in grades seven to twelve surveyed found that:
8.5 % of students reported taking Ritalin and similar prescription drugs for recreational reasons, compared to 5.3 % who took the drugs for treatment of ADHD.
20 % of teenagers who are prescribed methylphenidate (Ritalin) and dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) are passing the medications on to others.
14.7 % of them are sharing the pills with classmates, including a significant number who are being bullied out of their drugs or having them stolen
7.3 % are trafficking the drugs to their schoolmates.
According to the study, students who sell their medications are four times more likely to use marijuana and six times more likely to use other recreational drugs than other students. (alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs).
Reference: Canadian Medical Association Journal, Fall, 2001.

15. The most common long-term condition suffered by children 0 to 14 years of age is learning disabilities - HALS reported that 95,580 children aged 0 to 14 years have this condition.
Reference: Statistics Canada's Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) 1991

16. Almost 50% of adolescent suicides had previously been diagnosed as having learning disabilities.
References:1985, Dr. Peck, Crisis Intervention Treatment with Chronically and Acutely Suicidal Adolescents - Youth Suicide (pp 112-122),New York.
1989, Young, Leenaars, Rourke, 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.

17. Volumes of research have shown that 30% to 70% of young offenders have experienced learning problems. In the past two decades, the link between learning disabilities and delinquent behaviour has been examined and confirmed in both Canada and the US.
Reference:1976,Murray, D.A., - The Link Between Learning Disabilities and Juvenile Delinquency: Current Theory and Knowledge, Washington, US Government Printing Office.
1978, Dr. Carol Crealock, University of Western Ontario- Juvenile Delinquency: The Canadian Perspective, Behavioural Disorder 3:309-13.
1983, Dr. Peggy Koopman, 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.
1987, Dr. Carol Crealock, University of Western Ontario- The learning Disabilities/Juvenile Delinquency Link: Causation or Correction, Ottawa, Minister of the Solicitor General.
1987, The Relationship Between Learning Disabilities and Delinquent Behaviour, Learning Disabilities1:55-8.

18. The cost of detaining a young offender is approximately $100,000 a year.
Reference:1998, National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention, Andy Scott, Solicitor General of Canada