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Chartbook on Disability in the United States, Access to Disability Data, An InfoUse Project, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.
- Title:
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Chartbook on Disability in the United States, 1996
- Prepared by:
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Lewis E. Kraus
Susan Stoddard, Ph.D.
David Gilmartin - InfoUse
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2560 Ninth Avenue, Suite 216
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 549-6520
Email: disabilitydata@infouse.com - Prepared for:
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U.S. Department of Education
# H133D50017
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
Washington, DC - Suggested Citation
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Kraus, Lewis E., Stoddard, Susan, and Gilmartin,
David (1996). Chartbook on Disability in the
United States, 1996. An InfoUse Report. Washington,
DC: U.S. National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research. - Header: Foreword
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Our statutory charge at the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) is to support research in order to maximize the self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities of all ages. NIDRR has a leadership role in improving federal disability data, and in making the data more available.
Demographic data and statistical information on disability contribute to the understanding of the scope of disability issues in the United States, developing disability policy, and planning, conducting, and evaluating services for individuals with disabilities. But the variety of statutory authorities for the collection of public data sets, and an inconsistently applied definition of disability have resulted in fragmented, incomplete, and inconsistent data sets about individuals with disabilities.
Legislators, policymakers, service providers, the press, manufacturers, retailers, and advocates require information on the incidence and prevalence of disability conditions, the distribution of disability conditions among the population, and the characteristics of individuals with disabilities.
To address the need for better use of disability statistics, NIDRR has identified the need for presentation of data in meaningful, understandable, and accessible formats usable by persons with a range of educational levels and technical skills, sensory disabilities, languages, and cognitive disabilities.
This Chartbook on Disability in the United States, 1996, a product of NIDRR's new Center on Improving Access to Disability Data at InfoUse, is designed to provide current data in answer to many frequently asked questions about disability. The Chartbook is also available in print from InfoUse.
Katherine D. Seelman, Ph.D., Director
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research - Header: Preface
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The Chartbook on Disability in the United States, 1996, is a reference on disability in the U.S. population. We have created it for use by nontechnical and technical audiences alike. The book is a resource for agencies, organizations, employers, researchers, and others needing to know about those people in the population who have a disability.
Each page contains a topic question, explanatory text on the topic, and an explanatory graphic (or table) that provides data in an easy-to-read form. The source of the information and the survey used to collect the data appear at the bottom of the page. The surveys have a technical summary located in the appendix. In the text, key terms are shown in boldface and are defined in the glossary at the end of the book.
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Display of sample page with key features noted.
- Header: Contents
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- Foreword i
- Preface iii
- Contents iv
- Introduction 1
- SECTION 1 - Prevalence of Disabilities 3
- How many people have a disability? 4
- How many people are severely limited in physical functions? 6
- How many people need assistance in daily activities? 7
- How many people have mental retardation? 8
- How many people have a mental disorder? 9
- SECTION 2 - Characteristics of People With Disabilities 11
- Where do people with activity limitations live? 12
- How many people use assistive technology devices? 13
- How many people use home accessibility features? 14
- How do activity limitations differ by age? 15
- How do the levels of disabilities change with age? 16
- How does activity limitation differ for males and females? 17
- How do disability rates differ for males and females? 18
- How does disability differ for races and ethnicities? 19
- How does the need for assistance differ by race and ethnicity? 20
- How do activity limitations differ by family income? 21
- How do functional limitations differ by income? 22
- How do activity limitations differ by educational level? 23
- How does the need for assistance differ by educational level? 24
- SECTION 3 - Causes and Medical Cost of Disabilities 25
- Which chronic health conditions cause activity limitation most often? 26
- In a year, which conditions causing activity limitations are reported most often? 27
- How much do people with disabilities spend for medical care? 28
- SECTION 4 - Disability, the Elderly, Children and Youth 29
- How many elderly persons have disabilities? 30
- How many older people need assistance with activities of daily living? 31
- How many children have limitations in activity? 32
- What are the differences in race and income for children with limitations? 33
- How many children and youth receive special education? 34
- Where do children and youth receive special education? 35
- SECTION 5 - Work and Disabilities 37
- How many people are considered to be work disabled? 38
- How many disabled persons are in the labor force? 39
- How many work disabled persons are working full-time? 40
- How has the number of disabled people in the labor force changed over time? 41
- How do the states differ in numbers of people with a work disability? 42
- How many persons have a severe work disability? 43
- How many people are limited or unable to work because of a health condition? 44
- What chronic health conditions are the most frequent causes of work limitation? 45
- How do occupational injuries and illnesses affect work disability? 46
- What are the earnings of someone with a work disability? 47
- How many people does the Vocational Rehabilitation system help? 48
- Glossary 49
- Bibliography 54
- Appendix 59
- Acknowledgments 64
- Header: Introduction
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This 1996 edition of the Chartbook updates basic and current disability statistics. The presentation is nontechnical and meant for people who are interested in data on disability in the United States, but who are not familiar with the statistical sources. The document is intended for distribution in print and on the "Web."
This book's approach uses the most generalizable data possible from national survey and program data. These data are considered by experts to provide the best estimates of disability nationally.
In the Chartbook, we report analyses from more than one survey, since surveys use different definitions of disability. All charts are prepared from published tables and documents. Each term which is uniquely defined by the surveys is bold-faced on the page and is defined in the Glossary. Each page notes the survey and source of analysis. A Bibliography provides references for the sources consulted. Detailed information covering technical issues of each survey is provided in the Appendix.
Section 1 provides estimates of people with disabilities in the United States. Section 2 reviews the data on characteristics (age, sex, race, ethnicity, income, education, geographic location) of people with disabilities as reported by national surveys. Causes of disabilities, and medical costs, are covered in Section 3. Section 4 examines aspects of two particularly important disability populations, the elderly and children. Finally, work disability is reviewed in Section 5.