Special Education Report Roundup

Research Report: Special Education

“Relative Age Within the School Year And Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”
By Sarah D. Sparks — October 24, 2017 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Teachers and doctors should keep in mind a child’s relative age when considering whether he has an attention deficit, finds a new study in the journal Lancet Psychiatry.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham in England analyzed all children born in Finland from 1998 through 2011, including 6,136 diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder by age 10. They found that boys born between September and December of each year were 26 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than boys born in thefirst three months of the same year; girls born at the end of the year were 31 percent more likely to be identified with ADHD.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the October 25, 2017 edition of Education Week as Special Education

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
Smarter Tools, Stronger Outcomes: Empowering CTE Educators With Future-Ready Solutions
Open doors to meaningful, hands-on careers with research-backed insights, ideas, and examples of successful CTE programs.
Content provided by Pearson
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Improve Reading Comprehension: Three Tools for Working Memory Challenges
Discover three working memory workarounds to help your students improve reading comprehension and empower them on their reading journey.
Content provided by Solution Tree
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2026 Survey Results: How School Districts are Finding and Keeping Talent
Discover the latest K-12 hiring trends from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of job seekers and district HR professionals.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Special Education Teachers Are Using AI to Help Write IEPs. Advocates Have Concerns
Experts call for guardrails around the ethical, legal, and instructional concerns.
9 min read
Female student retrieving an IEP document from a giant laptop equipped with artificial intelligence.
iStock/Getty Images + Vanessa Solis/Education Week
Special Education Opinion ‘Educational Exile’: How Trump’s Layoffs Threaten Students With Disabilities
Here’s what’s at stake for millions of students if we lose federal enforcement of IDEA.
Susan Haas
4 min read
Wheelchair user obstacle metaphor. Conquering adversity. Hurdle on way concept. Overcoming obstacle on road. Vector illustration 3d isometric design. Barrier on way to success.
iStock/Getty Images + Vanessa Solis/Education Week
Special Education Does Extended Time on Tests Actually Help Students With ADHD?
Most students with ADHD receive extended time. Experts say better alternatives exist.
5 min read
close up pencil and alarm clock on answer sheets with yellow background, education concept
iStock/Getty
Special Education Trump Funding Cuts Hit Particularly Hard for Deaf and Blind Children
Programs supporting students with rare, complex disabilities have lost millions of federal dollars.
13 min read
Itinerant teacher April Wilson works with student Ryker Elam at Greenville Elementary on Sept. 29, 2025 in Greenville, Ill.
Ryker Elam works with itinerant teacher April Wilson at Greenville Elementary on Sept. 29, 2025, in Greenville, Ill. Wilson is a teacher of the visually impaired who works at schools across rural Illinois. A Braille training program Wilson enrolled in this fall was among dozens of special education-related programs for which the U.S. Department of Education has ended grant funding.
Michael B. Thomas for Education Week