The Well-Being of Canada's Young Children - Government of Canada Report 2008
Chapter 9 - Young Children with Disabilities – A Profile106
9.1 Introduction
While it can be challenging to accurately capture information on young children with disabilities between birth and five years of age, given the range of stages and rates of physical, emotional and cognitive development, there are several national data sources that can be used to provide a comprehensive picture of this group of children.
Previous reports on the well-being of Canada's young children have drawn on data from the 2001 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) and the 1991 Health and Activity Limitations Survey (HALS). The 2006 PALS continued to collect information on children with disabilities, enhancing its content to include such topics as child care and special education programs. These data will be released in the coming months.
The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), the primary data source on children in Canada, also collects information on children with disabilities. Children with disabilities can be identified on the NLSCY using two standard screening questions. These questions are comparable to those used in the PALS. In the first question, the person most knowledgeable of the child is asked, “Does this child have any difficulty hearing, seeing, communicating, walking, climbing stairs, bending, learning or doing any similar activities?” The second question asks, “Does a physical condition or mental condition or health problem reduce the amount or the kind of activity this child can do at home? At child care? At work or at school? In other activities, for example, transportation, play, sports or games?”. In order to be considered as having a disability, a positive response must be provided to at least one of these two screening questions.
Of the 10,462 children from birth to five years of age inclusive sampled in the NLSCY for Cycle 6 (2004/05), 6.61% were identified as having a disability using this screening method. This chapter presents a profile of these children.
9.2 Who are young children with disabilities in Canada?
…Children with disabilities are more likely to be male
When examining young children in Canada, males outnumbered females 51% to 49% in 2004/05. However, when focusing on young children with disabilities, the gender gap was more pronounced. In 2004/05, 63% of young children with disabilities were males, compared to 37% who were females.
…And older than children without disabilities
According to the 2004/05 NLSCY, children with disabilities tended, on average, to be older than those without disabilities. The average age of children with disabilities was 3.2 years of age compared with 2.5 years of age for children without disabilities. However, it is important to note that some underlying conditions that lead to disability in children do not begin to present until a child is slightly older. As well, it can be very difficult to diagnose or confirm certain types of disabilities until a child is older.
…The socio-economic situation of families with children with disabilities is not as strong
In 2004/05, young children with disabilities lived in families with an average income of $66,791 compared with $69,237 for young children without disabilities. Similarly, 24% of young children with disabilities were living below the after tax Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO) compared with 20% of children without disabilities. While these differences were not statistically significant for this age group, they do tend to suggest that the families of children with disabilities face greater economic challenges than those of children without disabilities.
These greater economic challenges are further echoed by the data when examining perceived changes to family income. For example, in 2004/05, young children with a disability were almost 4 times more likely than their counterparts without a disability to live in a family which indicated that their current financial situation was worse than it was a year ago.
Having a child with a disability has been shown to have an impact on a families' employment pattern. For example, in 2004/05, the child's primary caregiver was not currently working (and had not done so in the previous year) for 34% of young children with disabilities compared with 27% of young children without disabilities.
…Young children with disabilities are less likely to be in non-parental care arrangements
In 2004/05, 45% of children with disabilities from 1 to 5 years of age were in some type of non-parental care arrangement, compared with 56% of children without disabilities. Of those in non-parental care, the most common type of care used was “care in someone else's home” (42%). The proportion of parents using daycare centres as their primary care arrangement was similar for both parents with children with disabilities and those without at 33% and 30% respectively.
Year |
Parental |
Non-Parental Child Care |
Non-Parental Child Care |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Care in Someone Else's Home |
Care in Child's Home |
Daycare Centre |
Other |
|||
| Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Cycle 6 (2004/05). | ||||||
| Children with Disabilities | 55% |
45% |
42% |
17% |
33% |
8% |
| Children without Disabilities | 44% |
56% |
45% |
19% |
30% |
6% |
For those children who were in non-parental care arrangements, there was almost no difference between children with and without disabilities in terms of the average number of hours spent in such care. Children with disabilities spent, on average, 25 hours per week in non-parental care and children without disabilities 26 hours per week for children without disabilities.
9.3 How healthy are young children with disabilities?
…Children with disabilities are in overall good health
In 2004/05, 67% of children with disabilities were reported to be in excellent or very good health, demonstrating that their disability does not necessarily affect their overall health status. By comparison, 91% of children without disabilities were reported to be in excellent or very good health....But also more likely to be diagnosed with a chronic condition
In 2004/05, 46% of children with disabilities were reported to have a chronic condition, compared with 14% of children who did not have a disability.
Chronic Condition |
With a Disability |
Without a Disability |
|---|---|---|
| Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Cycle 6 (2004/05). | ||
| Asthma | 23 |
8 |
| Food Allergies | 11 |
5 |
| Respiratory Allergies | 8 |
2 |
| Other Allergies | 8 |
4 |
| Chronic Bronchitis | 5 |
2 |
| Heart Condition | 4 |
1 |
For all chronic conditions, children with disabilities were at least twice as likely to have that condition as children without disabilities. The most commonly diagnosed chronic condition for both children with and without a disability was asthma, although children with disabilities were three time more likely to have asthma than their non-disabled counterparts (23% compared to 8%). Food allergies were the second most common chronic condition reported for both groups of young children at 11% for children with a disability and 5% for children without a disability. The least commonly diagnosed chronic condition of those examined was a heart condition; although again, children with disabilities were much more likely to experience this than children without disabilities.
…And more likely to stay overnight in a hospital and/or use prescription medications
While there was no significant difference in the occurrence of injuries requiring medical attention, children with disabilities were more than twice as likely to have had an overnight stay in a hospital in the past year than children without disabilities (14% compared to 6%). As well, 30% of children with disabilities used prescription medicine regularly compared to only 8% of children without disabilities.
9.4 What about their caregivers?
…Children with disabilities are more likely to have caregivers in poorer health
In 63% of cases, the primary caregivers of children with disabilities reported being in excellent or very good health in 2004/05. By comparison, 75% of the primary caregivers of children without disabilities reported being in excellent or very good health.
Similarly, 47% of the primary caregivers of children with disabilities reported being diagnosed with a chronic condition, compared with 37% of the primary caregivers of children without disabilities.
Children with disabilities were also twice as likely to have a primary caregiver with an activity limitation as their non-disabled counterparts (17% compared to 8%).
…But do not experience any differences in how the family interacts
In 2004/05, there was no significant difference between children with and without disabilities in terms of how their families perceived their level of social support or how the family unit functions and interacts.
- 106 Acknowledgement for the development of this chapter is extended to Dafna Kohen and Rochelle Garner of the Health Information and Research Division, Statistics Canada. Click to return to reference