Utilizing data from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability, this infographic highlights the trends and experiences of persons with flexibility disabilities. This release is part of a series of infographics that focus on specific disability types.
Description - Flexibility disabilities, 2022
In 2022, 10.9% of Canadians (or 3.2 million individuals) aged 15 years and over had a flexibility disability.1
Flexibility disabilities were more prevalent with age:
- 15 to 24 years: 2.0%
- 25 to 44 years: 4.2%
- 45 to 64 years: 13.0%
- 65 years and over: 23.7%
Women+ (11.8%) were more likely than men+ (9.9%) to have a flexibility disability.2
Those with a more severe flexibility disability were more likely to have unmet needs for disability supports (68%) than those with a less severe flexibility disability (59%).
62% of persons with a flexibility disability received help with daily activities.
- Most common activities for which help was received
- 75%: Heavy household chores (e.g., yard work, snow removal or spring cleaning)
- 62%: Everyday housework (e.g., dusting or tidying up)
- 61%: Getting to appointments or running errands
Almost 7 in 10 (68%) persons with a flexibility disability used a mobility-related assistive aid, device or technology because of their condition.
- The most common aids, devices or technologies were…
- 32%: Cane, walking stick or crutches
- 19%: Walker
- 16%: Grasping tool or reach extender
Note: The Canadian Survey on Disability covers Canadians aged 15 years and over who experience limitations in their daily activities because of a long-term condition or health-related problem.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022.
Notes
1 A person is defined as having a flexibility disability if they have difficulty or are unable to either bend down and pick up an object from the floor or reach in any direction (for example, above their head), and they experience limitations in their daily activities because of this difficulty.
2 The “women+” category includes women as well as some non-binary persons, while the “men+” category includes men as well as some non-binary persons.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).