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About families with disabled children

• In the UK, there are 770,000 disabled children under the age of 16. That equates to one child in 20.
• The number of disabled children increased by 294,000 or 62% between 1975 and 2002, and there are more children with complex needs. This is due in part to population increases, but also to medical advances and increased diagnosis and reporting.
• 98% of disabled children live at home and are supported by their families.
• 55% of disabled children grow up in, or at the margins of, poverty.

We also produce a guide, About families with disabled children.

More facts and figures about families with disabled children

• The income of families with disabled children averages £15,270, 23.5% below the UK mean income of £19,968, and 21.8% have incomes that are less than half the UK mean.
• Only 16% of mothers with disabled children work, compared to 61% of other mothers.
• It costs up to three times as much to raise a disabled child, as it does to raise a child without disabilities.
• Childcare costs around £5.50 per hour for a disabled child, compared to around £3.50 for other children.
• With lower than average incomes and higher than average expenditure, many families with disabled children are in debt. 22.6% have debts up to £5,000, 15.7% have debts of up to £10,000 and only 15.7% have no debts. In the general population, 53% have no debts.
• Families with disabled children spend £27.61 on loan repayments a week, compared to the UK average of £3.10.
• Caring for a disabled child can cause relationship problems. According to one study, 31% of couples report some problems, 13% cite major problems and 9% actually separate. Stress, depression and lack of sleep are other commonly experienced problems.
• Only 8% of families get services from their local social services.
• Disabled children are 13 times more likely to be excluded from school.