The 1997 Census Bureau Brief on Disability Trends:

A Brief on Disabilities (PDF document) issued in December 1997 by the Census Bureau stated that:

"The growth in the number of people with disabilities can be expected to accelerate in the coming decades."

With respect to children and disabilities, the same Census Brief reports:

"Disability is no respecter of age, sex or race. Even among children ages 6 to 14, for instance, about 1 in 8 [or about 13% in 1997] had some type of disability [severe enough to limit their activity]."

Current projections indicate that the population level of those Americans with disabilities severe enough to impair their activities is expected to grow to about TWENTY-FIVE percent by the year 2020.