In 2003, almost 115,000 students with severe disability attended
mainstream schools rather than special schools, up from around
26,700 students in 1981, according to a report released today by
the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
'This two-decade trend has created a demand for services to help
these young people successfully manage the transition from school
to adult life,' said Dr Xing-yan Wen of the AIHW's Functioning and
Disability Unit.
'This includes entry into employment, post-school education, and
other social and economic activities,' he said.
The report, Disability in Australia: trends in prevalence,
education, employment and community living, shows that while
participation in education has increased among young people with
disability, the gap in labour force participation between people
with disability and people without disability has remained about
the same.
The overall rate of unemployment among people with disability
has halved, but the fall in unemployment was even greater for
people without disability.
Between 1998 and 2003 almost all the increase in employees with
disability was in the private sector. In both the private and the
government sector the number of employees with severe or profound
activity limitations fell.
From 1981 to 2003 the number of people with disability who need
help with basic daily activities of self-care, mobility, or
communication increased from 453,000 to 1.2 million, and the number
is projected to increase to 1.5 million by 2010.
"These increases were due to a combination of population growth,
population ageing, and improvement in diagnosis and data
collections and do not reflect a significant change in the
underlying rates of disability,' Dr Wen said.
Between 1998 and 2003, there was an increase of 93,900 people
needing help with core activities. Most of these people relied
mainly on family or friends for assistance.
'But there were still around 71,000 people who need help with
basic daily activities who had no assistance at all,' said Dr
Wen.
The report notes a trend towards people with severe disability
living in the community. The trend has been strongest for people
aged 5-29 years.
'This shows clearly the importance of service programs to
support carers, and to support the stability of community living
arrangements,' Dr Wen said.
Thursday 28 August 2008
Further information: Dr Xing-yan Wen, AIHW,
tel. 02 6244 1177, mob. 0418 271 395
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for the availability of Disability in
Australia: trends in prevalence, education, employment and
community living.