Meet students where they are

Learning disabilities are invisible, lifelong and widely misunderstood.

They are neurological conditions that affect how we process information and engage with the world around us. Dyslexia affects reading, dysgraphia impacts writing and dyscalculia affects math. Others struggle with executive functioning, affecting memory, attention, planning and organization.

Because they are not easily seen, learning disabilities can be overlooked or misinterpreted.

Many children with learning disabilities learn to cope. They work harder, stay up later, and find ways to get by. Some mask their difficulties so effectively that they appear to be OK until their efforts take more than they can give and can no longer be sustained. Those children are often left to struggle before they are understood, and support only arrives after the impact has taken hold.

Without answers, students with a learning disability can carry anxiety, frustration and a loss of confidence — resulting in some withdrawing from school altogether. This is what many families experience as a “wait-to-fail” system.

At a time when more than 15,000 students in Manitoba are reported as chronically absent, the consequences of a “wait-to-fail” system cannot be dismissed as a secondary issue. When school becomes a place where effort does not lead to success, disengagement follows.

Parents and advocates have been clear about what is needed: earlier access to assessment and to support. For many families, it’s not only about school, but about understanding what is happening at home, where a child’s stress is often most visible.

Learning disabilities are not a marginal issue. About one in 10 Canadians, roughly four million people, live with a learning disability. However, access to understanding and supporting these differences remains inequitable across Manitoba.

Families who can afford private assessments may receive answers within months. Others might wait years through the public system. Wait-lists are shaped by urgency, meaning students with more visible or complex needs are often prioritized, while young people who quietly mask their struggles wait longer.

In its special report, Bridging the Gap, the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth called for a co-ordinated, provincewide approach to reduce wait times. Yet, access still depends on where families live and what they can afford. Long wait-lists are also driven by workforce shortages, limited specialist capacity and inequitable co-ordination across systems.

Manitoba’s education system already says support should not depend on diagnosis. Schools are required to respond to a student’s needs and remove barriers to learning. In practice, however, access to these supports remains inconsistent. This is the gap that matters, and it isn’t just an education issue — it’s a matter of rights.

For example, in its October 2025 report, The ABCs of a Rights-Based Approach to Teaching Reading, the Manitoba Human Rights Commission identified systemic failures in Manitoba’s education system. The report pointed to issues including: inconsistent use of evidence-based reading instruction, delayed identification of students living with a learning disability and students’ unequal access to support.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Canada committed to ensuring that every child has access to an education that supports their full development. Learning to read is a basic and essential human right. Without literacy, students cannot meaningfully participate in their education.

The Manitoba government has taken some positive steps forward. Bill 225 introduces universal early reading screening from kindergarten to Grade 4, helping identify students with a learning disability earlier in their education.

But screening is not the same as support. Without timely intervention, students are left unsupported and the families who can turn to private services do so — creating a two-tiered system.

Universal Design for Learning — an approach to teaching and learning that gives all students equal opportunity to succeed — is a practical way forward. It builds flexibility into teaching from the start, with multiple ways to engage and demonstrate learning. It is not a replacement for specialists, but a foundation that can reduce the need for intensive intervention later. Combined with early screening and early intervention, it allows more students to access learning, participate fully and show what they know, instead of struggling to keep up.

At its core, this is about making learning visible.

Manitoba already has the tools, the evidence, and the legal foundation to act earlier. What’s missing is consistent action: investing in early intervention, strengthening classroom supports and fulfilling existing standards.

The rights and standards are already in place. Manitoba’s education system doesn’t need to look for failure. They need to design for success.

Sherry Gott is the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth. Her office supports, empowers and uplifts young people and their families to ensure they have all the resources they need to thrive.