Disability

Disability affects all aspects of a child's life, and the impacts of disability in childhood extend into adulthood.1 Children with disability may be disproportionately exposed to risk factors that can affect their survival and development, such as poverty; stigma and discrimination; institutionalization; abuse and neglect; and limited access to services, programs, and educational opportunities.2

Indicator HEALTH4 Percentage of children ages 5–17 with disability by sex, race and Hispanic origin, and poverty status, 2022–2023
Indicator HEALTH4: Percentage of children ages 5–17 with disability by sex, race and Hispanic origin, and poverty status, 2022–2023

NOTE: NH = non-Hispanic origin. The child disability measure is defined by a composite of responses to 13 core functioning domains: (1) seeing; (2) hearing; (3) mobility; (4) self-care; (5) communication; (6) learning; (7) remembering; (8) concentrating; (9) accepting change; (10) controlling behavior; (11) making friends; (12) anxiety; and (13) depression. A child is considered to have disability if their parent reports "a lot of difficulty" or "cannot do at all" to at least one of the first 11 domains or reports "daily" to domains 12 or 13. A child is considered without disability if their parent reports "no difficulty" or "some difficulty" to all the first 11 domains and "never," "a few times a year," "monthly," or "weekly" to domains 12 and 13. Data on race are based on the 1997 U.S. Office of Management and Budget standards for data on race and ethnicity. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey.

  • In 2022–2023, 14% of children (defined as ages 5–17 in this indicator) were reported to have disability.
  • Male children (14%) were more likely than female children (13%) to have disability.
  • White, non-Hispanic children (15%) were more likely than Hispanic children (12%) to have disability. There were no significant differences in the percentages of reported disability between Black, non-Hispanic (14%) and Hispanic children or between Black, non-Hispanic and White, non-Hispanic children.
  • The percentage of children with disability increased with decreasing family income level. Children with family incomes below the poverty threshold (20%) were the most likely to report disability, followed by children with family incomes at 100%–199% of the poverty threshold (15%) and children with family incomes at or above 200% of the poverty threshold (11%).

table icon HEALTH4 HTML Table

1 World Health Organization. (2001). International classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF). https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/international-classification-of-functioning-disability-and-health

2 World Health Organization & United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (2012). Early childhood development and disability: A discussion paper. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/75355

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics

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