by Claudia Boyd-Barrett posted in Mom Stories

If your child has gotten a ?disorder? diagnosis, you?re far from unusual. Speech problems, ADHD, developmental delay and a host of other disorders are extremely common ? in fact, a startling one in seven children under age 9 in the United States has one or more, according to a recent report.
The analysis released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 15.4 percent of U.S. children between ages 2 and 8 have at least one disorder such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder, autism, learning disabilities, developmental delays; and speech problems.
Researchers analyzed data on over 35,000 children. The data came from telephone surveys of parents conducted for the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children?s Health.
Children are more likely to suffer from mental, developmental or behavioral problems when families lack access to medical care, live in poverty, or when parents themselves have mental health challenges, the analysis found.
The disorders can continue into adulthood, making life more difficult for the individual and creating costs for society as a whole, the researchers argued. Policymakers can stem the problem by investing in better health care and social support services from an early age, the report indicated.
Because the data relies on parents reporting information and not medical records, statistics in the study may not be completely ac...