Because the census relies entirely on self-reporting, experts say the data could also be capturing a shift in how people perceive their cognition, even absent changes to their health. People with disabilities might have taken note of rising disability acceptance and become more likely to answer the census questions honestly, researchers say. Some young people may have been influenced by what disability researchers describe as increased awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity during the pandemic, as videos about mental illness and developmental disorders proliferated online, often encouraging people to self-diagnose. Most of the increase is probably capturing real changes in people’s health, she said. “We need to understand who these people are, how they’re being impacted and what we can do about it.”

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Persons: Sibley, ‘ I’m, ”, Monika Mitra Organizations: Lurie Institute for Disability, Brandeis University