Childhood Disability Rate Increases Across U.S., Connecticut Slightly Higher

The childhood disability rate in the United States was higher in 2019 than in 2008, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.   The increase in disability prevalence among children in families above the poverty threshold does not necessarily mean that children in this group had a higher risk of disability in 2019 than in 2008, the Census analysis points out. “It may stem from changes in access to health care and diagnosis among members of this group,” the Census Bureau states, concluding that “disability does not appear to affect all children equally.”

Childhood Disability in the United States: 2019 examines rates of disability among U.S. children under age 18 using the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) — the most recent data available — and the 2008 ACS, which first included the current set of disability questions.

Over three million children (4.3% of the under-18 population) in the United States had a disability in 2019, up 0.4 percentage points since 2008. The most common disability type among children both years was cognitive difficulty, which saw one of the largest jumps in prevalence between 2008 and 2019. 

In 2019, children living in poverty were more likely to have a disability (6.5%) than children living above the poverty threshold (3.8%), according to the nationwide Census data. 

“The difference in the prevalence of disability between children below and above the poverty threshold is noteworthy,” the analysis indicated. “Families in poverty tend to have fewer financial resources to care for a child with a disability.”

The report also noted that “Children with disabilities may have additional needs that prevent one or more family members from participating in the workforce. This can create financial strain for families, and in some cases may contribute to a family’s entry into poverty.”

There were regional differences in childhood disability prevalence in 2019, with the highest rates observed in the South (4.6%) and the Northeast (4.5%) and the lowest rate observed in the West, the Census Bureau points out.  The 2019 data for Connecticut indicate 4.4% of the childhood population has a disability, slightly higher than the national average.  In the region, Massachusetts was 4.5%; New York 3.8%; Rhode Island 5.1%. 

Vermont had one of the highest rates of childhood disability in 2019: 7.2% of children were estimated to have a disability, compared to the national average of 4.3%. Other states with a high prevalence of childhood disability in 2019 included Maine (6.1%), Louisiana (6.0%), Kentucky (5.9%), and West Virginia (5.9%). Compared to the national average, childhood disability rates were relatively low in South Dakota (2.9%), North Dakota (3.1%), California (3.3%), Utah (3.4%), and Hawaii (3.5%).

According to the ACS, people are considered to have a disability if they have difficulty with one or more of the following activities: seeing, hearing, concentrating or remembering (ages 5 and above), walking or climbing stairs (ages 5 and above), dressing or bathing (ages 5 and above), doing errands alone such as buying groceries or going to the doctor (ages 15 and above).

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children had the highest rate of childhood disability of all racial groups, at 5.9% in 2019.  Children of more than one race (5.2%) and Black children (5.1%) had the next highest rates (disability rates for Black children and children of more than one race did not significantly differ from each other).

Non-Hispanic White children (4.3%) had a lower disability rate than American Indian and Alaska Native children, Black children, and children of more than one race, but a higher rate than Asian children (2.3%) and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) children (3.2%). The disability rate among Hispanic children did not differ from the rate among non-Hispanic White children.

The analysis also indicated that the “regional patterns were similar to those observed for adult disability, with one notable exception. Like childhood disability, the disability rate among individuals aged 18 and older in 2019 was particularly high in the South. Yet, the adult disability rate was relatively low in the Northeast, a region that had one of the highest rates of childhood disability in 2019.”

Disability rates were significantly higher in 2019 than in 2008 for both children in poverty and those not in poverty. However, the percentage point increase was greater for children above the poverty threshold, according to the Census data. Changes in public awareness and diagnosis of disability in the United States also may have contributed to the overall increase in the childhood disability rate between 2008 and 2019, the analysis noted.