An estimated 4.4 million Canadians-one out of every seven in the population-reported having a disability in 2006, an increase of over three-quarters of a million people in five years, according to a new report.

The report was based on data from the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS). PALS is a national survey designed to collect information on adults and children who have a disability, that is, whose everyday activities are limited because of a condition or health problem. Funded by Human Resources and Social Development Canada and conducted by Statistics Canada, PALS provides essential information on the prevalence of various disabilities, support for persons with disabilities, their employment profile, their income and their participation in society.

The report suggested that one factor in the increase was the aging of the population, but that this played only a partial role. Another factor may have been increased social acceptance of the reporting of disabilities.

Learning disabilities underwent a large increase between 2001 and 2006, not just for children but for adults as well. Among children aged 5 to 14, learning disabilities joined chronic conditions as the most common form of disability.

Among children aged 5 to 14, about 69.3% of those with a disability reported a learning disability. Learning disabilities affected 121,080 children aged 5 to 14 in 2006, or 3.2% of all children in this age group.

In adults, the increase was especially marked for learning disabilities. The number of Canadians aged 15 and over with learning disabilities rose by almost 40% to an estimated 631,000 in 2006.

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