The differences in diagnosis rates across economic, ethnic, and gender lines were striking, Boulet says.
Nearly twice as many boys as girls had a disability, for instance. This might be because some genetic disabilities are more likely to be inherited by males, although it could also be that the symptoms of ADHD and other disabilities are more obvious in boys, and are therefore more likely to be diagnosed, the study notes.
Rates were also substantially higher than average among children from low-income families and children on Medicaid. Hispanic children had lower rates of disabilities than white or black children, which perhaps reflects language difficulties and other barriers to accessing health services rather than the true rate of disability.
The rise in disabilities seen in the study points to the growing need for specialized health and social services (such as mental-health services and therapists), Boulet and her colleagues say. However, due to budget pressures throughout the health-care system, children are at risk of missing out on exactly that kind of specialized treatment and prevention, Hilfer says.
“We are more aware that early intervention is the key to the greatest success in these kids,” he says, “[but] we need the resources to do that.”
