Disability Defined

Disability is “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities." ¹ 61 million adults (~ 1 in 4) in the United States live with a disability. In 2019, an estimated 1 in 6 Oklahomans identified as having a disability.² They are our neighbors, community members, colleagues, family members, and constituents.   

The Center for Learning and Leadership (CLL) is Oklahoma's federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD).  The CLL|UCEDD recognizes the need for accessible data that highlights Oklahomans with disabilities. Disability is seen in Oklahoma across all regions: urban, suburban, rural, and frontier. The CLL|UCEDD is committed to providing disability data on its website for improved health equity, research, advocacy, and informed decision-making.

Geographic Distribution

Please find the tables for the above data visuals here.

Definition for Disability

Disability data come from the American Community Survey (ACS), the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), and the Current Population Survey (CPS).  All three surveys ask about six disability types: hearing difficulty, vision difficulty, cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty.   Respondents who report anyone of the six disability types are considered to have a disability.