Identification of Early Risk Factors for Learning Disabilities

Abstract

The authors investigated birth risk factors for school-identified learning disabilities (LD) using a sample of 244,619 six- to eight-year-old public school children ( 6,715 LD) born in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Epidemiological measures of effect were used to investigate both individual- and population-level risk. Very low birth weight (VLBW), low 5-minute Apgar score, and low maternal education were associated with the highest individual-level risk. Low maternal education, late or no prenatal care, and tobacco use were associated with the highest population-level risk. Birth risk factors can be used to target screening and early intervention services for these high-risk children, which might be the most effective approach to reducing the incidence of school-identified LD.