Living with a disability can be incredibly challenging. Unfortunately, people don’t realize how many people in the U.S. are disabled. Believe it or not, there are 38.3 million people in the U.S. living with a severe disability. Additionally, according to the CDC, roughly 61 million people have a disability of some kind, even if it’s not necessarily severe. As a result, people with disabilities make up the country’s largest minority group.

To help spread awareness about people living with disabilities, July 16th has been designated as Disability Awareness Day.

What Is Considered a Disability?

A disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that significantly limits a person’s ability to perform daily activities. A person can be considered disabled from birth or can experience a disability over their lifetime. Such disabilities can be caused by everything from physical accidents to diseases.

Disability Awareness Facts

The following are a few disability facts that everyone should know about:

• There are over a billion people in the world that live with some sort of disability.
  
• Upwards of 190 million people have severe disabilities that require healthcare services.
  
• People with disabilities often face prejudice and discrimination, especially in parts of the world where healthcare service providers have a limited understanding of disabilities.
  
• It’s estimated that 80% of people throughout the world with disabilities live in developing countries.
  
• Around 90% of children in developing nations who live with a disability do not go to school.
  
• Around two out of three disabled individuals in the U.S. who are unemployed want to work.
  
• Employees who live with disabilities have much higher retention rates than those who are not disabled.

Living With a Disability Is Challenging

It’s important that people know how common it is to live with a disability and how it can affect a person’s daily life. Spreading awareness about this is crucial to ensuring that disabled individuals gain access to a higher quality of life both in California and around the world. For more health awareness information, visit us at The Benefits Store today.