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A Canadian Perspective on Learning Disabilities

Judith Wiener is an associate professor in the Department of Instruction and Special Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Toronto, Canada. She received her PhD in education and psychology at the University of Michigan. Her current research interests include peer relations and social skills of children and adolescents with learning disabilities, as well as communication aspects of assessment. Address: Judith Wiener, Department of Instruction and Special Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1V6.

Linda Siegel

Linda Siegel has held faculty positions at the University of Missouri and McMaster University Medical School and is currently a professor in the Department of Instruction and Special Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She received her BA degree from Queens College (New York) and her PhD from Yale University. She has conducted research in cognitive and language development, learning disabilities, reading, intelligence testing, and the social interaction of children with developmental disabilities. She is currently the editor of the International Journal of Behavioral Development and has been associate editor of Child Development.

Canadian practice and research with children and adults with learning disabilities are described and analyzed. After an examination of the historical basis for current practice, the societal and cultural factors affecting education of children with learning disabilities, services for adults, and research are discussed. It was found that policy and legislation regarding special education vary considerably from province to province, and identification practices and service delivery models vary even within provinces. The fact that Canada has two official languages (English and French), a large multicultural community, and a Native population with special needs often arising from poverty has an impact on the education of children with learning disabilities and on sample description in research. Although school-age children are relatively well served, services for preschool children and adults with learning disabilities are minimal. The positive features of Canadian service delivery are that most programs are publicly funded, decision making tends to be nonadversarial and collaborative, and the needs of the whole child are typically considered.

Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 25, No. 6, 340-350 (1992)
DOI: 10.1177/002221949202500602


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