Abstract
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.
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Acknowledgments
Financial support was given by Research and Development Council of the habilitation services of the Region Västra Götaland. Support was also given by Research and Development Council of the county Fyrbodal of the Region Västra Götaland.
Conflict of interest
This supplement was not sponsored by outside commercial interests. It was funded entirely by ECONA, Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185 Roma, Italy.
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Tuominen-Eriksson, AM., Svensson, Y. & Gunnarsson, R.K. 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. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 579–584 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1595-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1595-8