Disability

Disability affects all aspects of a child's life, and the impacts of disability in childhood extend into adulthood.130 Children with disabilities 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.131

Indicator HEALTH5: Percentage of children ages 5–17 with disability by gender, race and Hispanic origin, and poverty status, 2020–2021
Indicator HEALTH5: Percentage of children ages 5–17 with disability by gender, race and Hispanic origin, and poverty status, 2020–2021

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 as having 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 2020–2021, 13% of children ages 5–17 were reported to have disability.
  • There was no significant difference in the percentage of reported disability for males (14%) and females (12%).
  • There was no significant difference in the percentage of reported disability for White, non-Hispanic (13%); Black, non-Hispanic (14%); and Hispanic (11%) children.
  • Children with family incomes below poverty (18%) and those with family incomes at 100%–199% of the poverty level (15%) were more likely to report disability than children with family incomes at or above 200% of the poverty level (11%).

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130 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

131 HoutrowWorld Health Organization. (2012). Early childhood development and disability: A discussion paper. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/75355/?sequence=1

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