Special Needs

Learning disabilities aggregate 19.4%

ADHD 1 in 20*

  -  Au boys 11%, Au girls 6.1% 8.2% avg
  -  USA - highest ADHD rate of any country 11.3%

Intellectually disabled 4.5%
  -  developmental delay - Au 5% Australia
  -  developmental delay - USA 17%
  -  down syndrome 1 in 1,100 births
  -  fragile X syndrome 1 in 4,000  males
  -  foetal Alcohol Disorder 2%
  -  Prader Willi Syndrome (genetic obesity disorder) 1 in 10,000 births

  -  diet, malnutrition, toxins, meningitis

Mental Illness 1 in 5 Australians
  -  anorexia and bulimia 0.5%  and 1.5%
  -  anxiety 6.9%
  -  bipolar disorder 3%
  -  body dysmorphia 2.3%
  -  depression 1.4%
  -  impulse control disorder
  -  OCD 2%
  -  PTSD & CPTSD 3-15%
  -  schizophrenia 1 in 500

  -  sleep deprivation - boys 9-22%

  -  sleep deprivation - girls 13-35%

Sensory disabilities 4.6-19%
  -  autism - 1 born every 7 hours - 1 in 200 births
  -  hearing Impaired 1 in 6 Australians
  -  sensory processing disorder 1 in 20

  -  visually impaired 3%

Physically Impaired 7.3%
  -  acquired brain injury 12 Australians / week
  -  cerebral palsy - 1 born every 13 hours 1 in 700 and falling
  -  cystic fibrosis 1 in 2,500 births
  -  dwarfism 1 in 20,000
  -  epilepsy 5%
  -  multiple sclerosis 4% and rising
  -  muscular dystrophy 1 in 1,000
  -  spinal cord injury 5 Australians/week
  -  spina bifida 1 in 2,000
  -  tourette's syndrome 1 in 100

Source
Australian Bureau of Statistics

https://www.aruma.com.au/about-us/about-disability/disability-language-guide/

https://www.aruma.com.au/about-us/about-disability/disability-statistics/

Extract - NYTimes - The Not-So-Hidden Cause Behind the ADHD Epidemic

"Today many sociologists and neuroscientists believe that regardless of A.D.H.D.’s biological basis, the explosion in rates of diagnosis is caused by sociological factors — especially ones related to education and the changing expectations we have for kids. During the same 30 years when A.D.H.D. diagnoses increased, American childhood drastically changed. Even at the grade-school level, kids now have more homework, less recess and a lot less unstructured free time to relax and play. It’s easy to look at that situation and speculate how “A.D.H.D.” might have become a convenient societal catchall for what happens when kids are expected to be miniature adults. High-stakes standardized testing, increased competition for slots in top colleges, a less-and-less accommodating economy for those who don’t get into colleges but can no longer depend on the existence of blue-collar jobs — all of these are expressed through policy changes and cultural expectations, but they may also manifest themselves in more troubling ways — in the rising number of kids whose behavior has become pathologized."

Source

NYTimes - The Not-So-Hidden Cause Behind the ADHD Epidemic

“If the world thinks you’re not good enough, it’s a lie, you know. Get a second opinion.” – Nick Vujicic

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” – Christopher Reeve

“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” – Helen Keller

“Silence is the last thing the world will ever hear from me.” – Marlee Matlin

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” – Frida Kahlo

“Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision.” – Stevie Wonder

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” – Ralph Braun

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” – Muhammad Ali

“In life, just find something you love and make it your life. That is the only way to be successful. Love what you do.” – Hannah Cockcroft

“Everything is going to work out – there’s no other option.” – Kari Miller

“There is a plan and a purpose, a value to every life, no matter what its location, age, gender or disability” – Sharron Angle

“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” – Stephen Hawking

“Disability doesn’t make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does” – Stella Young

“I don’t need easy. I just need possible.” – Bethany Hamilton