The results are in. Putting a Canadian Face on Learning Disabilities (PACFOLD), the groundbreaking research study spearheaded by the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC). This massive project funding from the Social Development Partnership Program - Disability Component gives us the all important picture of life of a person with LD in Canada.

The study was completed by a team of top Canadian researchers, headed by co-principal investigators, NB's own Dr. Alexander (Lex) M. Wilson, Director of the Meighen Centre at Mount Allison University, and Adele Furrie, an Ottawa-based expert in disability statistics. They were joined by researchers, Dr. Elizabeth Walcot- Gayda, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Dr. Catherine Deri Armstrong, Department of Economics of the University of Ottawa, and Andrew Archer, an information data retrieval expert.

The PACFOLD study is unique, because it represents the first time any disability organization in Canada has requested access to Statistics Canada data surveys. Ten different data sets were examined, making it the most comprehensive look ever at the impact of living with a learning disability (LD) in Canada.

The PACFOLD study found that people with LD are often prevented from realizing success at school, at work, and in everyday activities. Achievements are often accomplished through factors outside government support, such as:

• Finding a teacher who is trained to work with a student with LD.
• Having family support that includes financial resources.
• Finding an employer that understands learning disabilities, and provides the necessary accommodations.

These findings clearly indicate to us the message of LDANB/TAANB over the years that there are huge societal costs if learning disabilities are not addressed.