Title
Lichamelijke beperkingen en andere gezondheidsproblemen bij kinderen in het speciaal onderwijs in vergelijking met het regulier onderwijs [Physical limitation and other health problems in children who go to schools for special education compared with mainstream education]
Author
Reijneveld, S.A.
Spee-Van Der Wekke, J.
Verloove-Vanhorick, S.P.
Publication year
2003
Abstract
Many children with developmental problems, especially with problems in cognition or in social and emotional functioning, go to schools for special education. Whether pupils in special education have more physical limitations, handicaps and other health problems than pupils in mainstream education has not been documented recently. Therefore, child health doctors and nurses collected data regarding limitations on 2630 children in special education and on 5515 children in mainstream education, in the age-range 4-15. Results show that the prevalence of 'serious physical limitations', for example in speaking or walking, is higher in children in special education than in children in mainstream education (20.0 and 4.1%, respectively) and that the same applies for 'any physical limitation' (49.3 and 19.8%, respectively). These limitations frequently interfere with daily life and children in special education experience significantly more handicaps too. Moreover, they have other health problems more frequently, and have a higher use of health care. We conclude that the need for medical care of children in special education is great. Healthcare providers, especially in paediatrics, will have relatively many of these children among their patients but should also realise that many of these children will not seek a paediatric diagnosis and treatment. The studies as described have been performed some years ago. It can be expected that the health problems among pupils in special educations have increased since then, because current policies aim at the integration of children with developmental problems in mainstream education. Therefore, morbidity is likely to increase among those remaining in special education, but paradoxically also in mainstream education.
Subject
Health
Adolescent
Child
Child health
Comparative study
Controlled study
Daily life activity
Developmental disorder
Education
Gait disorder
Handicapped child
Health care need
Health care utilization
Human
Major clinical study
Morbidity
Pediatrician
Speech disorder
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http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ded06ae2-818f-4713-92e1-6bf6391cb246
TNO identifier
237293
ISSN
0376-7442
Source
Tijdschrift voor Kindergeneeskunde, 71 (5), 208-213
Document type
article