The two most highly ranked concerns are about money and conflict with paid employment, followed by distance of programs offered;

The next most highly ranked set of concerns are program related, including program length, level of difficulty, not being able to work at one's own pace, and relevance of program content; and

The highest cognitive/emotive factor is a general nervousness about taking a program.¹⁴

Issues and barriers described by TWC Survey respondents and identified through the focus groups and interviews for this study generally support the findings from the ABC Canada research. Findings for this study have been grouped by those specific to adult students with disabilities and those which are generic to literacy students. They have also been organized into four categories to provide a framework for purposes of clarity. The four categories are defined as follows:

Program Issues – relate to barriers and concerns with the literacy, disability and funding programs;

Personal Issues – are those which the literacy students would experience;

Social Issues – refer to those societal barriers which adult literacy students might experience;

Support Issues – describe those barriers and issues which would provide personal support for literacy students.

However, it should be noted that some of the issues which are identified as being generic to literacy students may be more complex or significant for persons with disabilities.

¹⁴ ABC Canada, Why Aren't They Calling?, http://www.abc–canada.org/research/watc_summary.asp