The study Putting a Canadian Face on Learning Disabilities (PACFOLD) also involved hosting a series of focus groups in different Canadian cities to hear directly from people who know firsthand what it means to have learning disabilities in Canada today. The comments from the focus groups are only available in English. We apologies for the inconvenience.

Twelve focus groups in total were conducted consisting of adults with LD, parents of children with LD and children with LD between the ages of 10-14.

These were held in Halifax, Saskatoon, Ottawa, Toronto and Winnipeg between March and December 2005, and helped to fill in some of the blanks left by the data. Each focus group session lasted one and a half hours, and was tape-recorded.  Participants were provided with an honorarium of $30.00, and were asked to sign a release granting permission to be quoted anonymously, to provide a personal voice to the statistics. The Saskatoon adult group consisted mainly of aboriginals, and the Ottawa adult group consisted of LD individuals employed in professional occupations.

Rich anecdotal information was provided in the areas of diagnosis, experiences in school, impact on the family, financial implications, experiences at work, etc.