The Storm and Mobility
The recent storm in the North East dropped two to three feet of snow across the region. Three days later, getting to work was difficult for everyone. Many driveways weren’t plowed, the sidewalks were slippery, and buses and subways weren’t running on time. That got us thinking about how snow might impede the transportation of those surveyed by NCI. We decided to take a closer look at what the 2011-2012 Consumer Survey data show about mobility and transportation of individuals with ID/DD.
The following table demonstrates the mobility of survey respondents:
|
Mobility |
N |
Percentage of Total |
|
Moves self around environment without aids |
9216 |
76.2% |
|
Moves self around environment with aids or uses wheelchair independently |
1714 |
14.2% |
|
Non-ambulatory, always needs assistance |
1134 |
9.4% |
|
Don’t know |
23 |
0.2% |
|
Total |
12087 |
100% |
About three quarters of survey respondents move themselves around without the use of aids of any sort, while 14% use aids independently. Approximately 10% of respondents are fully non-ambulatory and need assistance moving at all times.
The following table demonstrates how survey respondents get where they need to go. The percentages will not add up to 100%, because respondents often named several types of transport they used. Also, for the purposes of this blog post, any differences by type of mobility have not been analyzed for statistical significance.
|
Mobility |
Transfers self |
Ride from family or friends |
Ride from staff in staff’s car |
Ride from staff in provider vehicle |
Public transport |
Specialized transport |
Taxi |
Don’t know/ |
|
Moves self around environment without aids |
16.5% |
41.5% |
27.1% |
43.2% |
12.2% |
8.2% |
3.2% |
12.5% |
|
Moves self around environment with aids or uses wheelchair independently |
6.9% |
30.3% |
20.5% |
49.9% |
7.3% |
11.7% |
1.9% |
18.5% |
|
Non-ambulatory, always needs assistance |
0.7% |
21.9% |
9.8% |
30.7% |
2.0% |
9.8% |
0.3% |
45.0% |
From the above table we can see that a large portion of respondents of all mobility levels use provider-provided transportation to get where they are going. Slightly fewer respondents state that they receive transportation from family or friends. Comparatively, very few respondents take a taxi, while slightly more take public transport and/or specialized transport.
Getting where you need to go is difficult for everyone after a huge snowstorm like Nemo. But as we clean our driveways and front walks, it is important to consider the movement of people of all mobility abilities.
Please note: The 2011-12 data reports will be released and placed on the NCI website this Spring. For more in depth analysis of previous year’s NCI consumer survey data, please see http://www.nationalcoreindicators.org.