Parents want the best for their children, particularly when it comes to education. While many parents may feel the cultural push toward earlier schooling, some are questioning these evolving norms and delaying school enrollment or forgoing conventional schooling altogether.
Intellectual Disabilities and Depression
Previous findings by Harvard researchers showed increased ADHD diagnosis rates for children who were the youngest in their kindergarten class compared to the oldest ones. But new research just published in JAMA Pediatrics reveals that in addition to higher ADHD diagnoses of children who are among the younger ones in their grade, relative youth may also lead to increased diagnosis of intellectual disabilities and depression.The new study looked at more than one million children in the UK and found that those who were among the youngest quarter in their grade were 30 percent more likely than the oldest quarter of the children to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability. These youngsters were 40 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, and 30 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression. The researchers conclude: “In this study, relative youth status in the school year is associated with an increased risk of diagnosis of ADHD, intellectual disability, and depression in childhood.”
