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

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.