Office on DisabilityWhat is Disability and Who is Affected by Disability?Disabilities have been defined in many ways. In general, disabilities are characteristics of the body, mind, or senses that, to a greater or lesser extent, affect a person’s ability to engage independently in some or all aspects of day-to-day life. - Different kinds of disabilities affect people in different ways. The same kind of disability can affect each person differently.
- Many Americans will experience disability first hand.
- While all disabilities are as different as the individuals who experience them, the challenges and opportunities for persons with disabilities often are similar.
Disability is neither inability nor sickness
- Most persons with disabilities are as healthy as people who don’t have disabilities; however, persons with disabilities are, however, at greater risk for illness
- Most people with disabilities can and do work, play, learn and enjoy full healthy lives in their communities.
- One of the key challenges for a person with a disability is to be seen by the public, to be portrayed in the media, treated by health care professionals, as an individual with abilities, and not just seen as a disability.
Disability can become a fact of life for anyone at any time.
- Today, 54 million people in the United States are living in the community with a disability. That’s one in every five people. According to the most recent census data, around 52 million of them reside in the community (US Census Bureau 2002). Additionally, about 2 million people live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
- Some people are born with a disability; some people get sick or have an accident that results in a disability; and some people develop a disability as they age.
- The reality is that just about everyone – women, men and children of all ages, races and ethnicities – will experience a disability some time during his or her lifetime.
- As we age, the likelihood of having a disability of some kind increases. The likelihood of having a disability increased with age. For those 45 to 54 years old, 22.6 percent have some form of disability; for those 65 to 69 years old, the comparable estimate is 44.9 percent; and for the oldest age group, 80 years old and over, the prevalence of disability is estimated to be 73.6 percent.
TABLE 3: Population by Age and Disability |
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Characteristic | Total | Total % | Population, Age 5 and over | 257,167,527 | 100.0 |
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With any disability | 49,746,248 | 19.3 | Population, Ages 5-15 | 45,133,687 | 100.0 |
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With any disability | 2,614,919 | 5.8 | Sensory | 442,894 | 1.0 | Physical | 455,461 | 1.0 | Mental | 2,078,502 | 4.6 | Self-care | 419,018 | 0.9 | Population, Ages 16-64 | 178,687,234 | 100.0 |
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With any disability | 33,153,211 | 18.6 | Sensory | 4,123,902 | 2.3 | Physical | 11,140,365 | 6.2 | Mental | 6,764,439 | 3.8 | Self-care | 3,149,875 | 1.8 | Difficulty going out | 11,414,508 | 6.4 | Employment disability | 21,287,570 | 11.9 | Population, Age 65 and Over | 33,346,626 | 100.0 |
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With any disability | 13,978,118 | 41.9 | Sensory | 4,738,479 | 14.2 | Physical | 9,545,680 | 28.6 | Mental | 3,592,912 | 10.8 | Self-care | 3,183,840 | 9.5 | Difficulty going out | 8,795,517 | 20.4 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3 (adapted from Panko Reis et al 2004) |
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