Disabilities, Inclusion and Education

Progressive
- Multiple Sclerosis
- neurological deterioration
- Muscular Dystrophy – muscular disorders
- Chronic Arthritis – inflammation of the joints

Non-Progressive
- Cerebral Palsy – neurological condition
- Spina Bifida – congenital malformation of the spinal cord
- Spinal Cord Injury – neurological damage resulting from trauma
- Absent limb

Fibromyalgia – chronic pain condition
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – chronic fatigue condition

Persons with 10% or less of normal vision

Common causes of vision loss include:
- Cataracts (cloudy vision – treatable)
- Diabetes (progressive blindness)
- Glaucoma (loss of peripheral vision)
- Macular Degeneration (blurred central vision)
- Retinal Detachment (loss of vision)
- Retinitis Pigmentosa (progressive blindness)a

23% of Canada's population experience hearing loss

Deaf - severe to profound hearing loss.
Deafened - an individual who has acquired a hearing loss in adulthood.
DeafBlind - an individual who has both a sight and hearing loss.
Hard of Hearing - an individual who uses their residual hearing and speech to communicate.

Schizophrenia – About 1% of Canadians.
Mood Disorders (Depression and Manic Depression) – About 10% of the population. Depression is the most common mood disorder.
Anxiety Disorders – About 12% of Canadians. They include phobias and panic disorder as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Eating Disorders – Includes anorexia nervosa and bulimia and are most common in men and women under the age of 30.
Personality Disorders – There are many different personality disorders. People with these disorders usually have difficulty forming relationships with people. They are the most difficult disorders to treat.

- Any condition that impairs development of the brain before birth, during birth, or in childhood years
- Genetic conditions
- Illness affecting the mother during pregnancy
- Use of alcohol or drugs by pregnant mothers
- Childhood diseases
- Poverty — resulting in malnutrition, disease-producing conditions, inadequate medical care, and environmental health hazards.

- A learning disability is essentially a specific and persistent disorder of a person’s central nervous system affecting the learning process.
- This impacts a person’s ability to either interpret what they see and hear, or to link information from different parts of the brain.
- One of the most common indicators of a learning disability is a discrepancy between the individual’s potential (aptitudes and intellectual capacity) and his or her actual level of achievement.

- Having a learning disability does not mean a person is incapable of learning; rather that they learn in a different way.
- Many people with a learning disability develop strategies to compensate for or to circumvent their difficulties.