Educational experiences for youth with disabilities
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Released: 2019-09-10
More than 540,000 (or 13%) Canadians aged 15 to 24 had one or more disabilities in 2017. For those youth who were attending school at the time of the survey, the availability of supports and accommodations in the classroom, as well as their peer network played a key role in shaping their educational experiences.
This infographic looks at how many youth with disabilities were in school, what educational supports they require, and some of the challenges they may face in terms of continuing their formal education, bullying, and course and career choices. All of these have an important place in helping to guide youth as they move into the next stage of their life.
Aids, assistive devices, and educational accommodations form an important part of the educational experiences of many youth with disabilities
Half of youth with disabilities require at least one aid, assistive device, or educational accommodation to be able to follow their courses. There are many different tools to help youth succeed in their courses. The most commonly required accommodations were extended time to take tests and exams (43%), an Individualized Education Plan (28%), a computer, laptop and/or tablet with specialized software or adaptation (24%), and modified or adapted course curriculums (22%).
Educational and career decisions are shaped by youths' disabilities
Flexibility to choose courses or careers based on self-interests is important to all students. For some youth, their disabilities may guide those choices. Over half of youth with a more severe disability feel that their condition influenced their choices of courses or career. Also, 27% of women said that they discontinued their formal education or training because of their condition, compared with 17% of men.
Note to readers
Data presented in the infographic are taken from the Canadian Survey on Disability, which provides a range of data on 10 different disability types, focusing on activity limitations related to hearing, vision, mobility, flexibility, dexterity, pain, learning, mental health, memory and developmental disabilities.
Products
The infographic "Educational experiences of youth with disabilities" is now available as part of the Statistics Canada — Infographics (11-627-M) series.
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