Extra Costs of Disablement: Background for an Australian Study

Abstract

It is widely assumed that people with disabilities suffer from financial disadvantage and incur extra costs of living which people without disabilities do not have. To live in an advanced industrial society involves costs across a wide range - costs borne by individuals, families, agencies, and governments. We assume but do not know the extent of the extra costs borne by those with disabilities, and the development of a method by which these extra costs may be assessed is imperative. The Social Welfare Research Centre has been fortunate in securing the services of Dr Robert Horn to begin to examine these issues. Unfortunately we have not been able to go beyond an initial examination. This paper is not a research paper. It was not intended to report results nor was it intended to develop theory. It was intended as a first step in developing a study which might examine the extra costs of disablement. The Social Welfare Research Centre is not able to conduct such a survey, nor is it able to develop in detail the component parts of such a survey. We hope, however, that we are performing a service by examining in a systematic way the definitional and conceptual issues that have to be thought through in our search for a better understanding of a social issue of great importance. This working paper deals with severe disablement, and is concerned with daily living costs.