Special Needs & Disabilities: Information for Adults Who Care About Teens

What’s It All About?

Teens with special needs and disabilities are at risk for developing long term physical, mental, or emotional health problems. About 15% of our nation’s teens have special needs, including asthma, attention deficit disorder, autism spectrum disorders, cancer, cerebral palsy, and other chronic health conditions and developmental disabilities. As these children grow into teenagers, it is important for adults to reinforce the message that teens with special needs are unique individuals and cannot be categorized simply by their special need or disability. It is critical that parents, teachers, and other adults provide ample opportunity for these teens to experience life to the fullest, including education, recreation, friendship, and work opportunities. Adults will need to work closely with teens to help create meaningful, desirable opportunities and to support them so they are fully included in their community and school. Strategies and resources are available to help teens with special needs develop meaningful friendships, recreation and work opportunities. See the resources listed on the back of this fact sheet.

Why Does It Matter?

Adolescence is often a difficult time. Teens with special health needs and disabilities may face even more challenges. Students with disabilities may be at increased risk for physical abuse, victimization by their peers, substance abuse and thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts. To grow into healthy adults, adolescents with special needs and disabilities, like all teens, need a caring and safe environment and help developing a positive view of their future.

What Are The Details?

• Nationally, more than 15% of adolescents 12 to 17 years old have a special health care need.
• In the U.S., boys are twice as likely as girls to received special education services.
• Approximately 8% of adolescents 10 to 17 years of age have some type of activity limitation.
• About 1-in-15 adolescents in Washington have a serious behavioral or emotional problem.

According to the 2002 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey:

• About 22% of 8th and 12th graders and nearly 25% of 10th graders report that they have a physical, emotional or learning disability or long-term health problem.
• More than 1-in-4 8th and 12th graders and 1-in-3 10th graders with disabilities report they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year compared to about 1-in-10 students without disabilities.
• Students with disabilities, particularly younger students, are more likely to be the victims of bullying than students without disabilities. More than 40% of 8th graders with disabilities say they had been bullied in the past month compared to less than a third of their peers without disabilities.
• About a third of students with disabilities said they had been physically abused by an adult compared to about 10% to 15% of students without disabilities.
• Nearly 30% of 10th graders with disabilities report using tobacco in the past month compared to less than 20% of 10th graders without disabilities.

What Can I Do?

To ease the transition from childhood to adolescence, you can help a teen with special needs achieve greater independence. Here are some tips from the Adolescent Health Transition project.