Skip Navigation
Perceptions and Expectations of Youth With Disabilities  (NLTS2)
NCSER 2007-3006
September 2007

Summary

This chapter presents findings regarding youth with disabilities' self-descriptions related to six attributes—being a nice person, being able to handle challenges, having a sense of humor, being sensitive to others' feelings, being well organized, and having a disability—as well as their feelings about themselves and their lives.

Youth report higher estimations of some attributes than others. Youth are more likely to describe themselves as being nice and having a sense of humor than to state they are sensitive, well organized, or can handle challenges. Youth are least likely to report considering themselves to be well organized. Those who describe themselves more positively related to one of these attributes are more likely to report being positive about other aspects. Parents' reported perceptions of their children are similar to those described by their children, and parents' and youth's perceptions are related to each other in that youth who hold higher estimates of their abilities tend to have parents who also hold high estimates of the youth's abilities and vice versa.

Fewer than one-third of youth who had received special education services when they were ages 13 through 16 consider themselves to have a disability or special need when they are 15 through 19 years old.

Overall, more than half of those with disabilities report that three positive attributes—being proud of themselves, feeling useful and important, and feeling that life is interesting—are "very much" like them, and that they enjoy life "most or all of the time." Youth are less likely to report feeling hopeful about the future than to describe themselves as being proud or useful, or to assert that life is interesting or enjoyable. Those who report feeling positive about one aspect of their life tend to be more positive about others. When compared with those in the general population, youth with disabilities are more likely to report that they enjoy life and feel hopeful about the future "most or all" of the time.

When asked to share their feelings about themselves and their lives, youth are more likely to report positive than negative feelings toward life. They are 8 to 12 times more likely to state they enjoy life and are hopeful "most or all of the time" and to feel that life is interesting, than to report that they frequently feel depressed. When focusing on the two ends of the frequency spectrum—in the prior week feeling depressed "most or all of the time" or "rarely or never" feeling depressed, youth with disabilities and their peers in the general population do not differ in reporting feelings of being depressed. However, those with disabilities are more likely than youth in the general population to report feeling disliked or lonely "most or all of the time." Youth with disabilities who report they are depressed also are likely to report they feel lonely or disliked.

Youth's reported perceptions of their attributes and their lives differ somewhat by disability category. Perceptions vary both within and across disability categories. For example, youth with emotional disturbances are less likely to describe themselves as a nice person than are those with visual or orthopedic impairments. Within each disability category, youth appraise their skills and abilities as being stronger in some areas than others. For example, youth with learning disabilities are more likely to report considering themselves to be a nice person and someone able to handle challenges than being sensitive to others' feelings.

Identifying oneself as an individual with a disability is more common for youth with some kinds of disabilities than others, although sizable percentages of youth in every disability category report that they do not consider themselves to have a disability. Youth with speech/language impairments or learning disabilities are less likely to report having a disability than youth in most other disability categories.

Overall, youth's reported perceptions about themselves and their lives do not differ significantly by age, household income, race/ethnicity, or gender, other than girls being more likely than boys to evaluate their sensitivity to others' feelings as being "very good."

This chapter has focused on youth with disabilities' perceptions about themselves and their lives; chapter 3 presents youth's self-evaluations of various competencies.

Top