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.These findings should send shivers up the spines of parents and teachers. Holding other childhood variables constant, the researchers were able to pinpoint relative youth as a key factor leading children to be diagnosed with significant academic and mental health issues. These children may have been more inattentive and energetic because they were younger, not because they had ADHD. Similarly, they may have been slower to learn because they were nearly a year younger upon school entry than their older peers in the same grade.
ADHD Diagnosis Dragnet
“Our findings suggest the possibility that large numbers of kids are being overdiagnosed and overtreated for ADHD because they happen to be relatively immature compared to their older classmates in the early years of elementary school,” the lead Harvard researcher, Timothy Layton, concluded.The researchers in the new UK study found similar results related to ADHD overdiagnosis, along with diagnosis of intellectual disabilities and depression. They suggest more research should be done on the link between early school enrollment and these potentially adverse outcomes.
Meanwhile, parents should be aware that their children could be caught up in a diagnosis dragnet for no other reason than relative youthfulness. And educators should be aware that if a child has a hard time sitting still and paying attention, is not catching on to the learning material as quickly as her peers, or is showing signs of depression, it could very well be that she is simply younger than the other kids. She may not yet be developmentally ready to listen and learn, and the disconnect between her own timetable and the school’s artificial one may cause her emotional turmoil.
The UK researchers suggest that parents can defer school entry, particularly for children who may be relatively immature compared to their peers, but they warn that this deferment may only shift the benchmark. If some children defer due to relative youth, there will simply be a new group that will be relatively young and could potentially experience the same issues.
Perhaps the best solution is to give children the freedom to grow and develop in their own way, without forcing them to conform to arbitrary standards. Rather than giving kids a label, just give them time.
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