Trends in Prevalence of Disabilities among Youth

Because there is no single definition, estimates of the number of youth with disabilities living in the U.S. vary. The National Survey of Children’s Health identified 1 in 4 children ages 12 to 17 as having special health care needs in 2019,¹ and the American Community Survey estimates that more than 1.3 million U.S. young people ages 16 to 20 have a disability.² Many young people have more than one condition: 17 percent of children ages 12 to 17 have two or three chronic conditions and 10 percent have four or more chronic conditions.¹

Among children ages zero to 17, adolescents have the highest prevalence of special health care needs,³ which likely reflects conditions that develop or are diagnosed in late childhood. Several sources indicate that the prevalence of childhood disabilities has increased in recent decades, although some portion of that trend may be due to improved diagnostic methods and better access to services. In recent decades, trends in prevalence have shifted from predominantly physical conditions to an increased prevalence of developmental and behavioral conditions. In 2019, more than one in four (26.9 percent) adolescents ages 12 to 17 had an mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral problem.¹

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