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We, at Bright Steps Forward, are dedicated to ensuring that all children in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties with neurological or developmental disorders have access to top quality special needs education and therapeutic interventions so they may achieve their maximum potential.
But what does that mean exactly for children with disabilities in Florida? We decided to find out – and what we learned from published statistics is a very interesting picture.
Out of the 20 million Florida residents, nearly 13.4% have some form of disability which can be classified in one or more of the following categories: visual, hearing, ambulatory, cognitive, self-care and independent living impairment.
This surprisingly high percentage is skewed because it includes the elderly population which has a much higher disability rate. If we look at disability rate for people 20 and younger, it's about 5%.
What we hope for ALL of our children is that they lead productive independent lives.
In Florida, approximately 30% of all adults with disabilities of working age (21 to 64) are employed and 9% who are actively looking cannot find employment. Statistics also show that those gainfully employed with a disability claim a median annual income of $35,000 – while those without any disability make nearly double that amount. Alas, nearly 30% of all working age people in Florida with a disability are considered at poverty level.
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