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One quarter of disabled kids not getting special education: StatsCan

One quarter of children with disabilities whose parents felt they needed special education didn’t receive this type of schooling, finds a new report from Statistics Canada.

In other words, 36,000 children across Canada did not receive schooling and 50 per cent of these children had severe or very severe disabilities.

Sixty-four per cent of parents with kids who had very severe disabilities said they faced challenges in finding special education for their kids.

On the other hand, 40 per cent of Canadian kids with disabilities between the ages of five and 14 received some form of special education, according to 2005/2006 statistics. The survey found that 70,600 disabled kids who attended school were enrolled in special education classes.

This percentage was the same as 2001/2001 figures. However, the survey reveals that the prevalence of disability has increased during the last five years, rising to 4.6 per cent of Canadian children aged five to 14 from four per cent in 2001.

More boys than girls are disabled, the report says.

Provincial differences

Disabled children in Ontario fared better than the national average of 43.1 per cent in receiving some form of special education during the 2005/2006 year; 48.7 per cent of them had access to this type of education.

Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Manitoba had access levels below the national average.

Thirty-four per cent of disabled kids in Quebec did not receive special education but needed it, according to their parents. The national average in this area was 24.3 per cent.

The Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, released Tuesday, is a national survey funded by Human Resources and Social Development Canada and conducted by Statistics Canada. It surveyed 48,000 people, of whom 39,000 were adults and 9,000 were children.

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