Disability Statistics

DISABILITY STATISTICS
(Abstracted Data)

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National Center for Education Statistics
U.S. Department of Education
Profile of Students in Postsecondary Education, 1987

In the fall of 1986, over 12.5 million students were enrolled in the
Nation's postsecondary institutions. Over 1.3 million of these stu-
dents (10.5%) reported having at least one disability.

Number of
Type of postsecondary Percentage of Percentage of
disability students all students disabled students

Total, any disability 1,319,229 10.5 100.0

Specific learning
disability 160,878 1.3 12.2

Visual Handicap 514,681 4.1 39.0

Hard of Hearing 265,484 2.1 20.1

Deafness 80,910 0.6 6.1

Speech Disability 62,525 0.5 4.7

Orthopedic handicap 231,491 1.8 17.6

Health impairment 320,272 2.6 24.3

Note: the percentage of all students drops to 9.2% in public, 4 year doctoral
institutions

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Extrapolation to UB, assuming 25,000 students

Total, any disability 2,300 9.2

Specific learning
disability 285 1.1

Visual Handicap 898 3.6

Hard of Hearing 460 1.8

Deafness 132 0.5

Speech Disability 110 0.4

Orthopedic handicap 395 1.6

Health impairment 573 2.3

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Louis Harris Survey of Disabled Americans, 1986

In their survey of 1000 disabled Americans, 50% did not consider themselves
disabled. In the age group 16-34, 65% did not consider themselves disabled.

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Firing & Associates

The Physically Impaired Population of the United States,1978

13.6% of the visually handicapped is totally blind. Using this percentage, the
figure for UB breaks down as 122 blind and 776 visually impaired.

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Gallaudet College, Office of Demographic Studies, 12/19/1979

Erie County* Hearing Impaired Significant Bilateral Loss Deaf

5.6% 2.5% 0.7%

* U.S Bureau of the Census, 1977.

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8.8% of the population are deaf or hard of hearing.

National Center for Health Statistics, 1987 and U.S. Census, 1990

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