The State of Children with Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs

Chil­dren and youth with dis­abil­i­ties are a high­ly diverse group rep­re­sent­ing many con­di­tions and iden­ti­ties — from learn­ing dis­abil­i­ties and men­tal and behav­ioral diag­noses to spe­cial health care needs. These young peo­ple con­tribute in pos­i­tive ways to their fam­i­lies, schools, com­mu­ni­ties and even­tu­al­ly — in adult­hood — to soci­ety through their work. At the same time, these chil­dren are also more like­ly to expe­ri­ence chal­lenges social­ly, emo­tion­al­ly, aca­d­e­m­i­cal­ly and in oth­er areas, com­pared to chil­dren with­out dis­abil­i­ties or spe­cial health care needs. In turn, their par­ents or care­givers expe­ri­ence stress relat­ed to their fam­i­ly finances and care­giv­ing duties.

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