According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Census Bureau (2022), persons with a disability accounted for 12 percent of the civilian non-institutional population. Also according to the US Census Bureau, only about 6% of the disabled population are school-aged individuals.
According to the CDC, in 2022, about 1 in 4 US adults (26%) have some type of disability.
“People with disabilities are the largest minority group in the United States, but for the most part, we remain invisible. We represent about 20 percent of the population. We live in every state and in every community; we are members of all social and racial and ethnic classes; we are present in most families" (Judith (Judy) Heumann, lifelong advocate for the rights of disabled people)
This helps to put things into perspective for me in a couple of ways. First it helps me to see that the population of individuals with disabilities who have a right to free and equal services and supports and it is actually mandated by law are those who are eligible for school age services. It also helps me to realize that this same group of individuals with disabilities is a relatively small subset of the grander demographic. This puts into perspective how important it is for schools to teach individuals with disabilities to become ready to live the rest of their lives once school is over.
I think it can be difficult for school special education service providers to think about their students growing old. They are focused on getting students "ready" to leave school but are they really thinking about getting "ready" to live their lives for the next 50 years? I have to say, as a past school based service provider, I was not. My goal was to get them employed or enrolled in some post school programming. My goal was not to get them ready to be senior citizens. My goal was also to help them to feel "ready" to engage in their community--at age 18-22, not at age 55. I believe I did a good job at getting my students "ready" for the next coupe of years, but I do not believe I did a good job getting them "ready" for the rest of their lives.
When I review the statistics above it makes me keenly aware that there are far more individuals with disabilities in middle age than there are school aged individuals. It also forces me to pay attention to the greater community and to notice who is in it and who is missing. If 26% of adults have some type of disability, then it would seem logical that every time I go anywhere outside my home, 1 in 4 of the people of I run across should have a disability. Now I know not all disabilities are visible and obvious but even I take that into consideration, I should still engage with at least 1 person with disability to every 8 people I encounter. So where are all these people with disabilities?
My theory is that because mandated services are only provided to individuals with disabilities until the are at best 22 years old, and if they are not taught how to be self determined and good self advocates, rather than engage in the greater community and society as a whole, they will retreat from it because they are not accepted. School helps individuals with disabilities to take the first steps into life after school but it does not really teach them how to sustain it. When an individual attempts to engage in a community activity without supports, if they do not know how to advocate they may not be welcomed into that activity. They may be seen as not appropriate for the activity. "Too few people with disabilities live independently, are competitively employed in a full time capacity, or are employed at a living wage that only has to make limited accommodations to offer equitable access. Disability status has been found to have a strong, consistent, and negative influence on occupational aspirations of high school seniors. Furthermore, few people with disabilities continue in postsecondary education to learn the employment skills needed for the 21st century" (Field, et.al., 1998). Also, many people in this society see people with disabilities as incapable of fully participating or not welcome to participate because they are different from the norm.
Let me lay out a few examples. On a very surface level, if an individual with a disability wants to attend a community festival or event, the individual needs to understand their own needs and to be able to ask the venue to accommodate those needs. This is good self determination and self advocacy and most people would be ok with this. But on a larger scale, if a person with a sensory disability who, for example, demonstrates self stimulating behaviors like rocking or clapping or humming, they should not have to ask for a special room or space where they can be isolated from the crowd to stim, but rather society should be aware that there are people (probably about 10% of the adult population) that may have a sensory need to exhibit behaviors that others may see as weird. This individual should not have to be isolated from the crowd to be able to attend the event and they and their party should not feel awkward or self conscious about the individual's behavior. The same can be said for people with physical or self care needs. Sometimes individuals need help eating and drinking and sometimes they are a bit messy about it. Society needs to learn to be ok with these individuals dining in the same space as everyone else. And don't get me started on planes!
I remember one time I went to a restaurant with my father, son and a friend and a young man came in with his family and they were seated at a table near us. The young man began vocalizing sounds, tapping on the table and walls and flapping his hands. He was not disruptive in my opinion, though he was a bit louder than the average patron of the restaurant. Now remember I am a sibling of an individual with complex communication, self care and physical needs. Well within a few minutes of family's arrival at their assigned table, my dad became agitate. He began mumbling, though loud enough for us to hear, saying things like, "I don't need this" and "Jesus Christ, what's his problem." Then, much to my chagrin, my father turns to the young man and his family and shouts, "would you stop that and just be quiet, I am trying to enjoy my meal!" After my initial shock at my father's display, I looked to the family with an apologetic "whatcha gonna do?" shrug. Then I turned to my father and attempted to explain to him that the young man appeared to have autism and he was just trying to self regulate and find a comfortable space for himself in the restaurant. Unfortunately my father was having none of it and grumbled back to me that he did not care what the young man "had", he had no business making all that noise in a public place. What I wanted to say was, "but its ok for you to make all your noise yelling at this poor kid," but instead I responded by reminding him that he is the parent of an individual with a disability. I reminded him that we have gone out to restaurants as a family, that my brother's (Dave) presence may have made some other diners a bit uncomfortable but we went out as a family any way because it is our right to do so, just as it is that family's right to enjoy a meal out as well. I went on to ask my father how he would feel if some fellow diner were to turn to our table and shout at Dave for having a bit of food on his chin or to dribble some fluid while drinking? My father is not one to admit his mistakes so of course he argued back a bit but I knew I had made my point and he found a way to ignore the young man's sounds as we finished our meal.
Disability is the only demographic we want to "fix". Yes, as a society we have tried to force people to assimilate (consider race, age and gender). We do the same with disability but even more so. We ask individuals with disabilities to conform to society when oftentimes, they seriously cannot. A blind person will never be able to see a menu, a person with who uses a wheelchair will not miraculously be able to walk, and a person with autism will not suddenly be ok with being touched. These people have just as much right to participate fully in society as any other person yet society does not embrace their differences, or fully adapt the environment to allow full access--physically, socially, emotionally, comfortably.
Some venues are becoming much better at accommodating the needs of individuals with disabilities but we still have a long way to go. For example, I have seen theaters and amusement attractions offer "sensory friendly" performances or times. This a nice sort of inclusive step and can be great for some, but what if it was just ok for someone with a sensory need to be able to stand in an aisle at a performance and rock or pace because that is what they need in that moment? Rather than having a separate performance, why not have options available at all performances? We want the person with a sensory need to be quiet and sit still because that is the normed expected behavior. But what if we recognized that not everyone can do that and rather than asking the individual to change or to attend the "special" performance for people like them, we change the environment so it is all inclusive. And the environment also means the people. The more we continue to either ask individuals with disabilities to change, to assimilate, to be more "normal", or we offer "separate but equal" options, the less society has to change to be more welcoming to all people.
We need to stop trying to "fix" people with disabilities, stop trying to find ways to make them "fit in". We need to enhance the broader environment to be more open and welcoming to every member of society.
Like many other demographic categories, disability is also a minority group. Disability, in fact is the largest minority group in the world.
So if disability is another demographic, how does it compare to others and how are individuals with disabilities represented within other demographic categories? Are there gaps by demographic category that are exacerbated when including disability in the demographic mix?
There are six major types of demographic segmentation: Age, gender, occupation, income, education, and family status, but depending on the source, there may be 5 or 8 or even more.
In 2022, 21.3 percent of persons with a disability were employed. Persons without a disability, represented 65.4 percent of the work force. The unemployment rates for persons with a disability (7.6 percent) are about double that of persons without a disability (3.5 percent) (Bureau of Labor Statistics). There is not really a difference in the types of fields of employment between those with and without disabilities.
"Persons who are neither employed nor unemployed are not in the labor force. A large proportion of persons with a disability—nearly 8 in 10—were not in the labor force in 2022, compared with about 3 in 10 of those with no disability. In part, this reflects the older age profile of persons with a disability; persons age 65 and over are much less likely to participate in the labor force than younger age groups. Across all age groups, however, persons with a disability were more likely to be out of the labor force than those with no disability."
"Only 21.3% of Americans age 16 and over with disabilities were working or actively looking for work, far below the 67.1% rate for Americans without disabilities."
The US Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act states that "covered nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour." So who are the exempt workers? This could mean an individual with a disability if the "disability actually impairs the worker's earning or productive capacity for the work being performed. The fact that a worker may have a disability is not in and of itself sufficient to warrant the payment of a subminimum wages". In order for a employer to justify paying a person a subminimum wage and be granted a certification to do so. The certification is valid for up to two years and it must be in place in order to pay a subminimum wage. For more information about this certification visit US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
Full-time, year-round workers with a disability earn 87 cents for every dollar earned by those with no disability and the (US Census Bureau). However, individuals with disabilities are less likely to earn a full-time wage. Generally speaking individuals with disabilities are less likely to work full-time and/or year-round. So because more individuals with disabilities work full time and year round they tend to earn 66 cents for every dollar compared than those with no disability.
So for employment, including wages earned, yes, there is a gap. Now on to race.
In the United States, in 2021, the approximate number of adults and children with a disability by ethnicity and race as compared to the total population are (Centers for Disease Control):
At first glance this may seem pretty equitable but when looking at prevalence of disability as compared to the total disaggregated population there is some pretty obvious disproportionality. Proportionally speaking, Whites should make up the majority of the population of individuals with disabilities and black and asian should be the least. But only Asian holds true. Blacks are disproportionately represented within the population of individuals with disabilities.
In schools across the country there is a widespread trend of school aged students of certain racial and ethnic groups being over identified for special education. The term “significant disproportionality” is being used to describe this trend.
According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, "students of color, with the exception of Asian students, are identified for special education at a higher rate than their White peers. American Indian and Alaska Native children receive special education at twice the rate of the general student population, and Black students are 40 percent more likely to be identified with a disability versus all other students".
Current nation data show that Asian students have a risk ration of .5, Black students 1.4, Lantinx 1.0, and White .9. A risk ratio greater than 1 indicates that a particular racial/ethnic group is overrepresented in special education compared to their representation in the general student population. A risk ratio less than 1 indicates underrepresentation.
According to this data, Asian students have a risk ratio of 0.5, which means they are underrepresented in special education. Black students have risk ratios of 1.4, which means they are overrepresented in special education. White students have a risk ratio of 0.9, which suggests they are slightly underrepresented but to a lesser extent than Asians and Latinx students are proportionately represented.
So for race, yes, there is a disparity. Now on to age.
The likelihood of having a disability increases with age. Fifteen percent of children aged 5-21 have a disability. Six percent of young adults age 18-20 have a disability, and 22 percent of adults near retirement age (61-65) have a disability. When compared to the overall population for those ages 5-17, the rate was 5.6%. For ages 18-64, the rate was 10.6%. For people ages 65 and older, the rate was 35.2% (Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, 2021).
When looking at age and disability the data can be confusing depending on how you look at it. We can look at prevalence of disability within an age group or by age group as compared to the general population. The share of the population that is 0 to 4 years old decreased from 6.5% in 2010 to 5.7% in 2021. The share of the population that is 65 and older increased from 13.1% in 2010 to 16.8% in 2021. The 65 and older age group is the fastest growing age group in the USA (US Census, 2021). Those aged 5-21 make up about 20% of the population, and those aged 21-65 include about 58% of the total population.
Proportionately speaking, based on this data,
- Age 5-21 have a risk ratio of 0.28.
- Age 21-65 have a risk ratio of 0.183.
- Age 65+ have a risk ratio of 2.095.
These risk ratios indicate that individuals in the 5-21 age group are underrepresented in the population of people with disabilities, while individuals in the 21-65 age group are even more underrepresented. However, individuals aged 65 and above are overrepresented in the population of people with disabilities.
This requires much deeper analysis. I have to wonder if people in the 21-65 age group are identifying themselves as having a disability. With the 65+ group growing so quickly, is this having an impact. I wonder about the eligibility requirements for disabilities as well. They differ for school aged as compared to senior citizens. These factors would need to be considered for a wholly accurate analysis but when reviewing the information with a broad stroke there is an obvious discrepancy with identification of having a disability by age.
So for age, yes, there is a disparity. Now on to gender
The current percentage of men and women in the United States is Men: 49.2% and Women: 50.8% (US Census, 2023). According to the Annual Disability Statistics Compendium published by the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, the estimated percentage of men and women with disabilities in the United States as of 2021 is as follows: Males with disabilities: 19.8 million, or 7.5% of the male population. Females with disabilities: 22.2 million, or 8.3% of the female population. Total with disabilities: 41.9 million, or 12.7% of the overall population. Some reasons for the slight difference between these groups are:
- Longer life expectancy: Women tend to live longer than men, and the risk of developing disabilities generally increases with age as we saw above. As a result, a higher proportion of women may experience disabilities later in life.
- Gender-specific conditions: Certain conditions that disproportionately affect women, such as autoimmune diseases like lupus and multiple sclerosis, may contribute to the higher prevalence of disabilities among females.
- Other societal issues like socio-economic status, access to healthcare and reporting bias could also contribute (Centers for Disease Control, 2023)
In the United States, the percentage of people with disabilities who have a high school diploma or equivalent is 82.1%, while the percentage of the general population with a high school diploma or equivalent is 89.2% (Disability Statistics Annual Report, 2020). According to the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2019-2020 school year, the national graduation rate for students with disabilities was 67.1%, compared to the overall national graduation rate of 85.3%. This means that students with disabilities were less likely to graduate high school than their peers without disabilities, who had a graduation rate of 88.6%. Students can leave high school by several means including graduation by federal requirements, dropping out, or aging out. While many students with disabilities may receive a high school diploma, they may not have done so by the same requirements as their peers without disabilities. They may have exited high school with lowered expectations and exemptions from some requirements, such as receiving a minimum score on statewide end of course or graduation assessments.
The high school graduation rate for students with disabilities in the United States has been gradually improving over the past decade. In 2010, the graduation rate for students with disabilities was around 59.8%, according to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Since then, there has been a positive trend, with incremental increases in the graduation rate for students with disabilities in subsequent years.
When students with disabilities are held to a different, lowered standard than their peers without disabilities, there is the potential for long term impacts on post school outcomes. We saw previously in this post that individuals with disabilities often earn less than peers without disabilities. They are also often underemployed. This can also have an impact on how and if individuals with disabilities attend and complete post-secondary education.
When comparing the educational attainment of people with disabilities to those without disabilities, the data shows that people with disabilities are less likely to have graduated high school by standard requirements and the also less likely to have completed any type of post school advanced education or training programs. However, the gap in educational attainment varies depending on the type of disability and other factors such as socioeconomic status and access to educational resources.
People with hearing disabilities have the highest percentage of completing a bachelor's degree in the United States, with 26.4% of individuals with hearing disabilities having attained a bachelor's degree or higher. In contrast, individuals with intellectual disabilities have the lowest percentage of completing a bachelor's degree, with only 5.9% of individuals with intellectual disabilities having attained a bachelor's degree or higher (National Council on Disability).
Once an individual has earned a certificate or degree, they will generally seek competitive employment. Ten years after receiving a Bachelor’s degree, graduates with a disability reported having an average income of $69,064, and graduates without a disability reported an average gross income of $77,008. Additionally, 55 percent of graduates with a disability and 63 percent of graduates without a disability reported owning a home, and 80 percent of graduates with a disability and 87 percent of graduates without a disability had some form of a retirement account (https://pnpi.org/students-with-disabilities-in-higher-education/).
Regardless of education level attainment, there is a clear wage gap between workers with and without disabilities. The average annual salary for disabled workers overall is about $66,900 compared to $87,770 for workers without disabilities. In fact, “gaps in earned income grew as levels of educational achievement increased” (Yin, et.al. 2014).
So for education, yes, there is a disparity. Now on to family status
In 2021, more than one-half (58%) of US adults ages 18 to 24 lived in their parental home, compared to 17% of adults ages 25 to 34. According to a study conducted by the Easter Seals, 69 percent of adults up to age 35 with disabilities live with their parents or guardian and, according to these parents, they will continue to live with their parents until they die at which point, they reported that their other children are planning to take care of their sibling with a disability when they die (36 percent).
The percent of adults living with a spouse is 50 percent, and those living with an unmarried partner is 8 percent. Fifteen percent of adults are living alone. The data for marriage rates for individuals with disabilities are limited because some of the sample sizes are quite small and because the incidence of reported disability increases with age but so does the death rate. So, the data I found was limited to people aged 18-49 who are reporting being married for the first time. Forty one percent of all people with disabilities are married as compared to 71.8 percent of those without disabilities (US Census American Community Survey).
When searching for divorce rates among individuals with disabilities, there is very little information. It seems that most of the data gets lumped in with health-related issues. The rates I found varied greatly but there seemed to be a connection between disability onset after marriage and divorce. There is not significant data that says that divorce rates are higher for couples when a partner develops a disability but depending on the age of onset and the type of disability, it has been reported as a cause of divorce. While information and data about divorce and the involved adults having a disability is limited, there is quite a bit of data concerning divorce and the birth of a child with a disability while married.
There are a wide variety of variables and conditions in a great many studies about marital status for parents of children with disabilities as compared to those without disabilities. Some of these variations include age of the child when then divorce occurs, age of the parents at the time of the divorce, type and severity of disability, and family structures (number of other children, previous divorce). The overall and general findings across all the studies however was that there appears to be a greater likelihood of divorce in parents of children with developmental disabilities than in parents whose children do not have a disability (Namkung, et.al, 2015). Reasons for this higher risk of divorce among families with children with disabilities range from financial, to medical, to social emotional, to disrupted general family dynamics. Each case is individual, and many involve several factors.
So for family status, yes, there is a disparity. So what does this all mean...
As stated earlier: "Too few people with disabilities live independently, are competitively employed in a full time capacity, or are employed at a living wage that only has to make limited accommodations to offer equitable access. Disability status has been found to have a strong, consistent, and negative influence on occupational aspirations of high school seniors. Furthermore, few people with disabilities continue in postsecondary education to learn the employment skills needed for the 21st century" (Field, et.al., 1998). Also, many people in this society see people with disabilities as incapable of fully participating or not welcome to participate because they are different from the norm.
Judy Heumann still says it best:
"People with disabilities are the largest minority group in the United States, but for the most part, we remain invisible. We represent about 20 percent of the population. We live in every state and in every community; we are members of all social and racial and ethnic classes; we are present in most families. But we are still often subject to the same unthinking responses to emerging problems that ignore the needs, issues or concerns of disabled persons. In most cases, we remain an afterthought.
"That invisibility persists at least partly because so few disabled people are in leadership positions in government, business and education. We are rarely in boardrooms, featured in TV shows or movies, or occupying positions of political power (the recent prominence of Senator Tammy Duckworth is a welcome exception).
"But there are also deeper cultural factors at play... [people have] often asked why they had never been told ...of the activism many [have] pursued in the disability rights movement as adults.
"One theory is this: They didn’t want to know. Historically, we have been hidden away. Disabled people can make nondisabled people feel vulnerable. We are a reminder of those fellow humans they may have avoided or shunned in the past, and of the fact that so many of us acquire disabilities as we get older.
"This situation is thrown into sharper relief when we compare our visibility to that of other identity groups. If you are unconvinced, try this experiment: Randomly look at any 50 print advertisements. You will no doubt find racial and ethnic diversity; you’ll see women and men of different sexual orientations; you will see gender fluidity and people of all ages. What you won’t see (or see very little of) are representations of disabled persons."
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