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| Children with disabilities homepage Statistics homepage |
Statistics on children with disabilities collated from government, official and research publications.
There were 0.8 million children with disabilities in the UK in 2010/11. This constitutes 6% of the total child population.
From: Department for Work and Pensions (2012) Family resources survey: United Kingdom 2010/11 (PDF). London: Department for Work and Pensions. p.79
Studies into the prevalence of maltreatment among children with disabilities in the US have found that these children are over three times more likely to experience abuse and neglect than non-disabled children. Disabled children in a large scale US study were found to be 3.4 times more likely overall to be abused or neglected than non-disabled children. They were 3.8 times more likely to be neglected; 3.8 times more likely to be physically abused; 3.1 times more likely to be sexually abused, and 3.9 times more likely to be emotionally abused (Sullivan and Knutson (2000) cited in National Working Group on Child Protection and Disability (2003)). Smaller scale UK based studies have indicated similar levels of maltreatment (Kennedy (1989); Westcott (1993) cited in National Working Group on Child Protection and Disability (2003)).
From: National Working Group on Child Protection and Disability (2003) "It doesn't happen to disabled children": child protection and disabled children. London: NSPCC. p.20.
Disabled children or children with learning disabilities are 20% more likely 'than average' to run away.
From: Rees, G. and Lee, J. (2005) Still running II: findings from the second national survey of young runaways (PDF). The Children's Society. p.8-9.
"Just over one-fifth (1%) of young care leavers had disabilities in 2007/08. Of this group of young people 69% had a learning disability, 12% had a physical disability or sensory impairment, 8% had mental health needs and 12% had other types of disabilities (this included Aspergers Syndrome, aggressive behaviour and children with more than one type of disability.) There are no directly comparable figures for the Northern Ireland population. However, less than 6% of all young people of this age in Northern Ireland have a long-term limiting condition according to the 2001 Census figures and DSD figures show that only 3% receive Disability Living Allowance. This suggests that a disproportionate number of care leavers are coping with disabilities."
From: NSPCC (2009) Key child protection statistics in Northern Ireland. London: NSPCC. p.19
How to find, understand and use statistics about child abuse
NSPCC, 2011. A brief introduction to child abuse statistics.
Comparing child abuse statistics over time and between countries
Explains the issues around looking for trends in statistics over time, within the UK and internationally.
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