Socioeconomic trends such as aging and other factors have contributed to the growth of the disabled population. As Figure 1 shows, the impairments that cause limitations in activities may include physical and developmental disabilities, speech, hearing and visual impairments, or the natural effects of the aging process.

d

Today people with disabilities make up a large and diverse group. Consider the following facts regarding this market segment:

• More than 50 million Americans — one in five people — have a disability.⁷
   
• The group is comprised of people of all ethnic backgrounds, cultures and ages and represents the largest minority subgroup — 20 percent of all Americans — in the U.S.⁸
   
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 1990 and 2000, the number of Americans with disabilities increased 25 percent, outpacing any other subgroup of the U.S. population.⁹
   
• Of the nearly 70 million families in the U.S., more than 20 million families have at least one member with a disability.¹⁰
   
• The market segment of Americans with disabilities maintains an aggregate income that now exceeds $1 trillion, of which more than $175 billion is discretionary.¹¹
   
• 700,000 people are newly disabled each year.¹²
   
• 61 percent of people with disabilities are of working age, between 16 and 64 years old.¹³
   
• According to figures from the 2000 Census, one in 12 U.S. children and teenagers — 5.2 million, has a physical or mental disability. This reflects a sharp growth in the population of young Americans with disabilities over the past decade.¹⁴