The figures, revealed in a report by Together for Disabled Children and commissioned by the government, show that 162,831 families accessed a short break from March 2010 to March 2011.
This is an increase of 105,000 on the 57,383 who accessed short break funding during 2008/9.
But campaign group Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM) warns many families may miss out as councils tighten eligibility criteria in response to budget restrictions.
Laura Courtney, EDCM campaign manager, said: "It is crucial that the government monitors the eligibility criteria of every local area to ensure that they do not impose illegal restrictions on access to short breaks."
Over the period highlighted in the report, short breaks funding has received significant investment, through the previous Labour government’s Aiming High for Disabled Children agenda and the coalition government’s pledge to provide £800m over the next four years for short breaks through its early intervention grant.
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