Stats & Facts

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Disability statistics

Four in ten disabled children are living in poverty
The average cost of bringing up a disabled child are three times more than for a non-disabled child
Parents of disabled children are more likely to divorce
Only 32% of families with disabled children feel accepted by their local communities
52% of disabled people have experienced discrimination at work
Nearly a quarter of disabled people who need adapted accommodation don’t have it
More than half (58%) of disabled people have been victims of crime, 15% of whom believe it was directly motivated by their impairment.
One in three disabled people has been refused service or turned away from pubs, leisure centres, restaurants or other public places.

Excerpts from SCOPE Impact Report 2011/12

(“Life expectancy of children with cerebral palsy”; J L Hutton, K Hemming and UKCP collaboration)

The current UK incidence rate is around 1 in 400 births.
Approximately 1,800 children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy every year.
There are an estimated 30,000 children with cerebral palsy in the UK.
There are more boys born with cerebral palsy than girls. For every 100 girls with cerebral palsy, there are 135 boys with cerebral palsy.
Just under half of children with cerebral palsy were born prematurely (before 37 weeks gestation).

One in three children with cerebral palsy is unable to walk.
One in four children with cerebral palsy cannot feed or dress themselves.
One in four children with cerebral palsy has a severe learning disability.
One in ten children with cerebral palsy has no useful vision.
About one in fifty children with cerebral palsy is deaf.
About one in eleven children with cerebral palsy is blind.
About one in four children with cerebral palsy is reported to have epileptic seizures.