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What Is Disability?
It’s important to note the same type of disability can affect individuals differently. In some cases, disabilities may not be easy to identify. This is what makes generalizations about people with disabilities creates a disservice. While these individuals may often be categorized as a single population, individuals with disabilities are actually part of a diverse group with a wide range of needs, strengths and weaknesses.
The World Health Organization reports “Almost everyone will temporarily or permanently experience disability at some point in their life. Over one billion people – about 15% of the global population – live with some form of disability and this number is increasing.”
What Is the Socio Economic Impact of Being Disabled?
According to the World Health Organization, “great progress has been made to make the world more accessible for people living with disability but much more work is required to meet their needs.” More than meeting their needs people with disabilities should be provided the opportunities to meet their full potential on all levels. There are great disparities:
- People with disability experience poorer health outcomes, have less access to education and work opportunities, and are more likely to live in poverty than those without a disability.
- Results from the American Community Survey (Americans With Disabilities Act Participatory Action Research, 2014) reveal significant disparities in the median incomes for those with and without disabilities. Median earnings for people with no disability were over $30,469, compared to the $20,250 median income reported for individuals with a disability (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015).
- In developing countries, around 90% of children with disabilities don’t go to school.
- In the U.S. Department of Labor’s (2017) Office of Disability Employment Policy, the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities (including physical, intellectual and developmental, sensory, and other disability categories) aged 16 and over is 20.1 percent as compared to 68.6 percent for people without disabilities of the same age.
- Very often people with disability do not receive the healthcare services they need. Evidence shows that half of people with disability cannot afford healthcare. People with disability are also more than twice as likely to find healthcare providers’ skills inadequate.