> Other learning disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, auditory processing problems, etc.) also seem to be on the rise - again, for what reason, we don't know.

I did my first year of teaching practicum this year in Calgary, and I worked primarily with students with learning disabilities. Many of the special education teachers I spoke with pointed at problematic, radical teaching methods in early childhood education, and the elimination of free kindergarten for a period of years. The students from that time seem to have almost universally greater difficulties learning, and far more students have the learning disabilities you mentioned, with greater severity.

I know also that in Calgary, at the elementary level, learning disabilities are far more common in areas where students have a low socio-economic status (sorry, I don't know a better way to refer to this). The typical occurance of learning disabilities is 13 to 15% in Calgary schools in elementary; in the school where my wife worked, 80% of the students were coded for learning disabilities; excluding ESL, the number was still approximately 55%.

> te "oddly flattered by that last comment . . . " ach

frum