Journal Article

The Changing Landscape of Disability in Childhood

Newacheck, Paul W., Halfon, Neal, Larson, Kandyce, Houtrow, Amy

2012

Overview

Americans' perceptions of childhood disability have changed dramatically over the past century, as have their ideas about health and illness, medical developments, threats to children's health and development, and expectations for child functioning. Neal Halfon, Amy Houtrow, Kandyce Larson, and Paul Newacheck examine how these changes have influenced the risk of poor health and disability and how recent policies to address the needs of children with disabilities have evolved. The authors examine the prevalence in the United States of childhood disability and of the conditions responsible for impairment, as well as trends in the prevalence of chronic conditions associated with disability. They find that childhood disability is increasing and that emotional, behavioral, and neurological disabilities are now more prevalent than physical impairments. They stress the importance of, and lack of progress in, improving socioeconomic disparities in disability prevalence, as well as the need for better measures and greater harmonization of data and data sources across different child-serving agencies and levels of government. They call on policy makers to strengthen existing data systems to advance understanding of the causes of childhood disabilities and guide the formulation of more strategic, responsive, and effective policies, programs, and interventions. The authors offer a new and forward-looking definition of childhood disability that reflects emerging and developmentally responsive notions of childhood health and disability. They highlight the relationship between health, functioning, and the environment; the gap in function between a child's abilities and the norm; and how that gap limits the child's ability to engage successfully with his or her world. Their definition also recognizes the dynamic nature of disability and how the experience of disability can be modified by the child's environment.

• Publisher: Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution,Princeton University,Princeton University-Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs,Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and The Brookings Institution
• Subject: Accessibility (for Disabled) / Activity limitations / Autism / Autism Spectrum Disorders / Barriers / Child / Child Development / Child Health / Child health services / Childhood / Childhood Needs / Children / Children & youth / Children with disabilities / Childrens health / Chronic Disease - classification / Chronic Disease - epidemiology / Chronic Disease - rehabilitation / Chronic diseases / Chronic Illness / Chronic illnesses / Context Effect / Cross Cultural Studies / Cross-Sectional Studies / Data / Delivery of Health Care - trends / Development and progression / Developmental disabilities / Disabilities / Disability / Disability Identification / Disabled / Disabled children / Disabled Children - classification / Disabled Children - psychology / Disabled Children - rehabilitation / Disabled Children - statistics & numerical data / Disease Incidence / Early Intervention (Education) / Education, Special - trends / Environmental Influences / Epidemiology / Family (Sociological Unit) / Forecasting / Government Agencies / Handicapped / Harmonization / Health / Health aspects / Health Conditions / Health Needs / Health policy / Health Problems / Health Promotion / Health Services Accessibility - trends / Health Services Needs and Demand - trends / Health status / Health Status Disparities / Health surveys / Humans / Illness / Incidence / Maternal & child health / Measurement Techniques / Medical conditions / Medicine / Mental health / National Surveys / Neurological disorders / Pediatrics / People with disabilities / Perceptions / Performance Factors / Physical disabilities / Physical Health / Physically Handicapped / Policy making / Public health / Public Health - trends / Public Policy / Risk / School age children / Severity (of Disability) / Social Change / Social Indicators / Social Influences / Socioeconomic Factors / Statistical Data / Trend Analysis / United States