According to Dyslexia Canada:
Dyslexia is a “specific learning disability in reading”. Children with dyslexia have trouble reading accurately and fluently. They may also have trouble with reading comprehension, spelling and writing.
Dyslexia Canada officially adopts the International Dyslexia Association definition of dyslexia.
A 2019 Pollara Survey found that over 90% of Canadians want mandatory dyslexia training for teachers.
Literacy is an essential skill to get and keep a job, and to adapt and succeed at work. Yet in Ontario, a substantial portion of adults (42% according to the International Adult Literacy Skills Survey) do not have the literacy skills they need for home, work and everyday life. Sixteen per cent struggle with very serious literacy challenges and have trouble reading even the most basic text, while the other 26% can read but not well enough to meet the demands of today’s society.[119] Low literacy is worse among certain groups. For example, a Statistics Canada report found that while 17% of all persons had a literacy score in the lowest category in 2012, 30% of recent immigrants, 26% of Indigenous persons,[120] 27% of unattached non-elderly persons, and 23% of people with an activity limitation had a literacy score level in the lowest category.[121]
As of 2018, Ontario’s five-year graduation rate was 87.1% with almost 13% of Ontario students failing to earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma within five years of entering Grade 9.[122] This rate is even more troubling for certain communities. Only 60% of First Nations students, 68% of Inuit students and 76% of Métis students graduated within five years. In Ontario, just 61% of adults with the lowest literacy levels are employed, while 82% of people with the highest levels of literacy are in the workforce.
Fewer people with diagnosed learning disabilities are employed, and if they are they have less job satisfaction and more work-related challenges.[128] Adults with reading disabilities may have underachieved educationally and may be underemployed.[129] They may avoid jobs that have a lot of reading and writing. They may be reluctant to tell their employer about their disability because they fear discrimination.[130] A wage gap has been found between employees with and without learning disabilities.[131] The higher school dropout rate for students with learning disabilities leaves them at greater risk for socio-economic disadvantage, street involvement, and even homelessness.[132]. It should also be noted that people with childhood learning disabilities are over-represented among homeless youth and adults.
According to the Canadian Dyslexia Association, about 23% of people living in Canada are affected by dyslexia. Based on a study in Alaska, Dyslexia affected 43% of their Indigenous population. One parent of a First Nations student with dyslexia attending school in a northern board stated that what little dyslexia resources they have are unavailable until a student is a specific age and has already given up AND the family is harassing the school for help.
See for instance:
>>dyslexiacanada.org/dyslexia-basics
>>newswire.ca/news-releases/dyslexia-awareness-month-study-canadians-calling-for-more-funding-to-support-children-867842290.html
>>ldao.ca/
>>itshardtoread.org/standard.html
>>ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/first-nations-métis-inuit-experiences
>>ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/context-inquiry
