In 2017, The Cornell University Online Resource for U.S. Disability Statistics estimated that there is 12.7 percent of non-institutionalized disabled persons living in the United States. Their website reads that “40,714,800 out of 321,823,700 non-institutionalized, male or female, all ages, all races, regardless of ethnicity, with all education levels in the United States reported a disability.”

 

In 2014, the Arizona Disabilities Planning Council reported that The Grand Canyon State was home to 767,091 developmentally disabled persons, accounting for 11.9 percent of its base population. The prevalence estimate today amounts to over 12.8 percent.

 

The numbers on both national and state levels are staggering and represent a cry for help that is currently echoing across the entire country. Although there have been several significant advances in disability care and housing, it is simply not enough to sustain a rapidly growing disabled population.