Concurrent medical conditions and health care use and needs among children with learning and behavioral developmental disabilities, National Health Interview Survey, 2006-2010.
Kids with any DD carry heavier medical loads and still don’t get all the care they need.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team looked at five years of national parent interviews. They compared kids with autism, ID, ADHD, or other delays to kids without DD. They counted doctor visits, meds, therapy, and any care parents said was missing.
What they found
Every DD group had more health problems and more doctor trips. They also had more unmet needs than typical kids. The gaps were large and steady across all four diagnoses.
How this fits with other research
Schott et al. (2021) later showed the same pattern in adults. Two-thirds of autistic adults on Medicaid waitlists still lack key services.
Kunze et al. (2025) found these adults also have tiny support networks. The medical gaps you see in kids shrink only slightly as they age.
Saloner et al. (2019) gives one fix. After Kansas forced private plans to cover autism care, kids’ therapy visits more than doubled.
Why it matters
Your behavior plan is only part of the picture. Screen for asthma, sleep, dental, and mental-health needs at every re-assessment. Flag families who say they can’t find a doctor or pay for meds. A quick referral can remove barriers that block your ABA gains.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Studies document various associated health risks for children with developmental disabilities (DDs). Further study is needed by disability type. Using the 2006-2010 National Health Interview Surveys, we assessed the prevalence of numerous medical conditions (e.g. asthma, frequent diarrhea/colitis, seizures), health care use measures (e.g. seeing a medical specialist and >9 office visits in past year), health impact measures (e.g. needing help with personal care), and selected indicators of unmet health needs (e.g. unable to afford needed prescription medications) among a nationally representative sample of children ages 3-17 years, with and without DDs. Children in four mutually exclusive developmental disability groups: autism (N = 375), intellectual disability (ID) without autism (N = 238); attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) without autism or ID (N = 2901); and learning disability (LD) or other developmental delay without ADHD, autism, or ID (N = 1955); were compared to children without DDs (N = 35,775) on each condition or health care measure of interest. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were calculated from weighted logistic regression models that accounted for the complex sample design. Prevalence estimates for most medical conditions examined were moderately to markedly higher for children in all four DD groups than children without DDs. Most differences were statistically significant after adjustment for child sex, age, race/ethnicity, and maternal education. Children in all DD groups also had significantly higher estimates for health care use, impact, and unmet needs measures than children without DDs. This study provides empirical evidence that children with DDs require increased pediatric and specialist services, both for their core functional deficits and concurrent medical conditions.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2011.10.008