Who Are The Disabled?

Estimates for the number of people with disabilities vary widely depending on the definition of the disability and the sources of the data. One current estimate is that there are thirty million people in the United States alone with some type of disability.  (Vanderheiden 1)  Disabilities tend to be much more common in the elderly, and our longer lifespans indicate that the aging population will increase dramatically over the next few years.

These numbers also do not take into account people with temporary disabilities.  For example, a normally able-bodied person may have an automobile accident where they break their arm.  The broken arm is considered to be a temporary disability.  Another common scenario is the person who is occasionally bothered by a chronic disability.  Someone with a low-grade repetitive stress injury (RSI) may normally be able to use a mouse, but may find on some days that they would prefer to use the keyboard to reduce the strain on their wrists.  Such temporary disabilities should also be considered when looking at the population of disabled users.

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