The Globe and Mail's André Picard writes about limited social interactions for Canadian kids with physical and developmental disabilities

There are few things more heartbreaking than a child with no friends.

But being friendless is the norm for Canadian children with physical and developmental disabilities.

A new study, written by Anne Snowdon, a nurse and professor at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor in Ontario, shows that 53 per cent of disabled kids have no friends.

Even those with friends have very limited interactions. Outside of formal settings such as the classroom, less than two hours a week spent with their peers is the norm; only 1 per cent of children with disabilities spend an hour a day with friends.