Learning Disability and Socioeconomic Status

Abstract

From a sample of 333 children in grades 4 and 6 of three western Canadian urban public schools, 35 were defined as learning disabled according to the criterion of educational age less than 85% of measured mental age and of chronological age. Eighteen were from families whose socioeconomic status was above the median for the total group and 17 from below the median. But of the upper SES children, 13 (72.5%) had been diagnosed by the Pupil Services Department, whereas only 5 (35.2%) of the lower SES group had been diagnosed. Thus, no significant difference in defined learning disability was found between children of above average and below average socioeconomic status, but the difference in the rate of diagnosis between socioeconomic groups was statistically significant in favor of children from higher socioeconomic status homes.

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