According to WHO, around 1.1 billion of the world’s population has a disability. That’s 15% of the population. It’s the world’s largest minority and the only group that anyone can fall into at any point in their lives. In Canada, over 5 million people are living with disabilities. 3.7% of Canada’s children under 15 are also affected by a disability. This includes learning disabilities, as well as mental and physical impairments. Typically, an impairment in children is considered a delay in development, whether it’s intellectual or physical. Of the children in Canada who do have a disability, almost 65% of them also suffer from a chronic health condition.
Disabilities aren’t always visible or obvious. Hidden disabilities affect many Canadian children. There are ten types as identified by the Canadian Survey on Disability, they include developmental, sight, mobility, dexterity, hearing, flexibility, pain, learning, memory, and psychological/mental.
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Children Under 4
This is the most difficult age group in which to identify disabilities. The reason for this is that children develop at such different rates during this period of life. The most common disability diagnosed in this age group is a developmental delay.
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Children Aged 5 – 14
Learning disabilities are the most common disability in this age group. It’s important to note how many problems are encompassed by this umbrella term, including dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysphasia which are the technical terms for issues with writing, reading, reasoning, and speaking. It’s perhaps important to note that males, aged 5-14, are more likely to have intellectual disabilities, while females are more likely to have issues with mobility.
These disabilities have nothing to do with intelligence levels. Often, these children are incredibly intelligent, but their minds don’t work the way that others’ minds do.
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Severe Disabilities
Just over one percent of Canadian children have severe disabilities. Again, this is something that affects males at higher rates. Children might not be as affected by severe disabilities as the rest of the population, but there is still a massive impact on their lives. It’s so important that we recognize our children who are living with disabilities and makes strides in understanding how they’re affected and what can be done to help.
It’s possible for some disabilities to decrease as children age and for others to increase. Typically, dexterity and speech difficulties decrease over time, while learning disabilities and mobility issues related to a chronic health problem increase. Often, certain disabilities aren’t picked up on until children attend school. So, this may explain why some issues decrease with age. Females are more likely to experience a mild disability however, in every other category (moderate, severe, and very severe) males are affected at greater rates.
Living with a disability is expensive, the majority of people who are disabled require specialized equipment or technology to help them carry out their daily lives, including to learn, move, and communicate. The cost grows when there are home modifications necessary and for families with severely disabled children, it can easily cost upwards of $40,000. Yet, many households only receive that much in income.
If you would like more information on disability in Canada and how you can claim Disability Tax Credit, contact us to discuss your situation.