Pattern of disabilities in a residential school for the handicapped in Ilorin, Nigeria.

As part of a wider study aimed at establishing baseline information (for planning purposes), the pattern of disabilities in a Residential School for the handicap was determined. Information on demographic data, nature of handicap, age of enrollment, present class and length of stay in the school were obtained. The study involved 82 pupils (28 females) aged 5-30 years (mean 16.9 + 5.08 years). Seventy nine percent (65) were deaf, 13.6%(11) blind and 6.2% (5) had mental retardation. The mean age of enrollment was 10.6 + 4.12 years. Only two (2.5%) of the pupils/students stayed in the school beyond the regulation time. These findings show that deafness was the commonest disability and strongly suggest that none of the disabilities observed had major impact on learning ability in this school system.