Excerpt from: Health 24 (click for full article)
Significantly more US children have a neurodevelopmental or mental health disability than did a decade ago, according to new research.
Disabilities that impair a child's day-to-day living have risen 16%, with the greatest increase seen in richer families, according to the study. Conditions such as autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder appear to lie behind the increase, experts said.
But the surveys of parents in 2001-'02 and 2009-'10 also revealed some good news: The rate of disability due to physical conditions went down, according to the study, which is scheduled for presentation at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting in Washington DC. Data and conclusions presented at meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
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