Earthblog

General Disability Statistics (Texas)

• 6.6% of the population (ages 5-20) in Texas has a disability.¹

Early Intervention (Texas)

• 3% of children from birth to age three have a disability or developmental delay.²
• 18,171 children received early intervention services under IDEA, part C. ³

Public Education (Texas)

• 455,613 children ages 3-21 received special education services under IDEA, Part B. ³
• 317,562 children ages 3-21 received special education services (21% of the time or more) outside of their regular education classroom. ³
• Only 129,849 received special education services in a regular education classroom for 79% or more of the day. ³

Employment (Texas)

• In 2005, the employment rate of working people (ages 21-64) with disabilities was 40.3%.
• In 2005, only 25.8% of working people (ages 21-64) were employed in a full-time/full-year capacity.
• Texas ranks 23rd in employing people with disabilities. ⁴

Autism Statistics (Prevalence & Growth)

• 1 in every 166 children born in the US has autism. ⁵
• A new case of autism is diagnosed nearly every 20 minutes. ⁵
• It is estimated that 1.5 million people in the US have this disorder. ⁵
• Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the US today with a 594% cumulative growth rate from 1992 to 2003. ⁶

Other Disability (Prevalence & Growth)

• 1 in every 733 children born in the US is diagnosed with Down Syndrome.⁷
• 1 in every 444 children born in the US is diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.
• 1 in every 1,428 children born in the US is diagnosed with Spina Bifida.
• 1 in every 8 children born in the US is born prematurely which may lead to developmental delays or other disabilities.
• All disabilities (other than autism) have had a 32% combined cumulative growth rate from 1992 to 2003. ⁶

1 US Census Bureau, R1801.Percent of People 5 to 20 Years Old With a Disability: 2005.
2 Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention Annual Report, 2001.
3 OESP, 25th Annual Report to Congress, 2001
4 StatsRRTC, Cornell University, 2005 Disability Status Reports TEXAS, 2005.
5 Texas Public Schools Autism Prevalence Report, School Years 1992-2003.
6 Center for Disease Control, Autism Occurrence.
7 National Down Syndrome Society, 2006.