Children with disabilities are often misdiagnosed initially and children with neuropsychiatric disorders are referred to adequate resources 30 months later than children with other disabilities.
Disabilities in a child may lead to low self-esteem and social problems. The lives of parents and siblings are also affected. Early intervention may decrease these consequences. To promote early intervention early referral to adequate resources is essential. In a longitudinal retrospective observational study it was found that children with neuropsychiatric disorders without mental retardation were referred 30 months later than other children. Agreement between the referrer's identification of the main disability and the habilitation center's was low with Kappa coefficient 0.44. Whereby agreement on diagnosis between referrer and habilitation centers was low, earlier referral should be promoted.
Child and Adolescent Habilitation Center in Fyrbodal County, Barnhabiliteringen Mariedal, Restadvagen 24, 462 54, Vänersborg, Sweden. alli-marie.t-eriksson@vgregion.se
Alli-Marie
AM
Tuominen-Eriksson
Yvonne
Y
Svensson
Ronny K
RK
Gunnarsson
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D019989:Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies