PMID: 8602136Apr 19, 1996Paper

Prevalence of selected developmental disabilities in children 3-10 years of age: the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program, 1991

MMWR. CDC Surveillance Summaries : Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC Surveillance Summaries
C A BoyleD E Schendel

Abstract

Serious developmental disabilities affect approximately 2% of school-age children and are lifelong conditions that incur substantial financial and societal costs. January 1991-December 1991. The Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program (MADDSP) monitors the prevalence of four serious developmental disabilities--mental retardation, cerebral palsy, vision impairment, and hearing impairment--among children 3-10 years of age in the five-county metropolitan-Atlanta area. Children who have at least one of the four developmental disabilities are ascertained through annual review of records at schools, hospitals, and other sources. During 1991, rates for mental retardation varied by age, race, and sex; rates ranged from 5.2 per 1,000 children to 16.6 per 1,000 children. Regardless of the absolute rate of mental retardation in each of the age-, race-, and sex-specific categories, severe mental retardation (i.e., an intelligence quotient of <50) accounted for one third of all cases. The overall crude rate of cerebral palsy was 2.4 per 1,000 children; however, the rate was higher among black children (3.1 per 1,000 children) than among white children (2.0 per 1,000 children). The rate of moderate to severe hear...Continue Reading

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