What or who do you think of when you hear the word disability?
Many different things comes to mind to each individual because of their own experiences. Disabilities come in all shapes and sizes. A disability is any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions). There are many different types of disabilities but most of them fall into these categories:
Developmental, Vision, Movement, Thinking, Remembering, Learning, Communicating, Hearing, Mental health, Social relationships
There are 61 million people in the United States living with a disability. That is 1 in every 4 people or 26% of the population with the leading groups being adults over 65 years of age, women and Non-Hispanic/American Indians/Alaska Natives.
The National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs identified nearly 1 in 5 children ages 12-17 as having special healthcare needs,1 and the American Community Survey estimates that more than 1.3 million U.S. young people ages 16-20 have a disability.
I want you to take a little time this week and think about the variances in disabilities and the statistics in our country. On a day to day basis, we are not thinking of different levels affecting someones everyday life. Disabilities are not always recognizable. Which is even more reason to be kind to EVERYONE you encounter each day. As a community, we all are affected and we all can be a part of the solution for human rights.
#embracethehellyeah
~AE
1 Health Resources & Services Administration, Maternal & Child Health Bureau. (2013). The National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. Chartbook 2009-2010, p. 9. Retrieved from https://mchb.hrsa.gov/cshcn0910/
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