Disabilities Among Norwegian Students Found Eligible for Special Education

The prevalence of different disabilities in a sample of 780 students found eligible for special education in Norway is presented in this article. Each student was judged in relation to 10 different disabilities, and the frequencies of the different disabilities were reported. Almost all students had more than one problem or disability. It is argued that statistics related to students with disabilities that ascribe each student only to one category of disability do not provide a correct picture of the prevalence of different disabilities. The most common disabilities reported in this study were psychosocial problems, intellectual disability, and communication disorders that were found in about 40 to 50% of the students. About one third of the students were reported to have attention deficit disorder or physical disabilities, 25% experienced social stress outside school, and 20% had medical problems. Hearing and visual impairments are reported for about 5% and 6% of the sample respectively.