ADHD remission, inclusive special education, and socioeconomic disparities

Abstract

To understand how institutional environments and socioeconomic backgrounds may influence health outcomes, we examined the relationship among special education environments, socioeconomic status (SES), and likelihood of ADHD remission in children. While the majority of children experience remission by adulthood, the likelihood of remission varies across different SES levels and education environments. We find that for low SES children the likelihood of remission is higher in states that have more inclusive special education regimes. In contrast, for more advantaged children, the odds of remission do not depend on the level of special education inclusivity. Our findings suggest that providing more inclusive education can reduce disparities in behavioral disorders and are particularly important for less advantaged children. In doing so, this study contributes to the fundamental cause and health inequality literature by adding to a growing body of work showing how institutional environments can affect socioeconomic gradients in health treatment and outcomes.

Children Who Receive Special Education Services for ADHD: Early Indicators and Evidence of Disproportionate Representation in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K: 2011)

“…Universal screenings could reduce not only the gender imbalance for students in special education with ADHD, but these screenings could also ameliorate the troubling association between demographic factors like SES and ethnicity and special education services for ADHD. Students from lower SES backgrounds are less likely to experience remission from ADHD, and there is some evidence that low SES students with ADHD who participate in special education have higher rates of remission (Kim et al, 2019). Thus, providing struggling low-income students with ADHD special education services should be a priority.…”

Conceptualising, defining and providing special education in China: stakeholder perspectives

“…Finally, and in comparison with regular education, Kim, King, and Jennings (2019) pointed out 'special education environments are associated with differential remission rates among more and less advantaged children' (p. 7).…”

Implementasi Kebijakan Pendidikan Inklusif Untuk Mewujudkan Kesetaraan Belajar Bagi Peserta Didik Berkebutuhan Khusus Tingkat Sma Di Surabaya

“…Pada dasarnya saat siswa memperoleh pendidikan melalui lingkungan inklusif, maka PDBK tersebut akan dapat menggeneralisasi perilaku dari intervensi teman sebaya yang bukan disabilitas, sehingga hal tersebut dapat memicu prestasi akademik yang lebih baik, fungsi sosial yang lebih tertata, dan perilaku yang dapat mengimbangi lingkungan sekitarnya (Kim et al, 2019). Selain itu kehidupan sosial dalam pembelajaran, dilakukan tanpa adanya pemaksaan.…”