Age of Disability : From Onset to Limitation

'Cross-sectional surveys on persons with disabilities are designed to capture disability at a single point in time. This approach can be appropriate for initiatives that require information on the current population of persons with disabilities. However, such surveys can present challenges in addressing how disabilities progress over time. Understanding when disabilities are most likely to first occur (age of onset) or limit daily activities (age of limitation) can inform the timing of program and service intervention. To address this data gap, the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability contained questions regarding both age of onset and limitation for each disability type a person may have. Using these questions, the present paper provides an overview of the relationship between disability at time of the survey in 2017, age of onset, and age of limitation'--Abstract, page 4.