Long-Term Psychosocial and Health Economy Consequences of ADHD, Autism, and Reading-Writing Disorder: A Prospective Service Evaluation Project

• Published in: Journal of attention disorders 2008-09, Vol.12 (2), p.141-148
• Main Authors: Nydén, Agneta, Myrén, Karl-Johan, Gillberg, Christopher
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Asperger Syndrome; Asperger Syndrome - economics; Asperger Syndrome - therapy; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - economics; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - therapy; Attention Deficit Disorders; Autism; Autistic Disorder; Autistic Disorder - economics; Autistic Disorder - therapy; Child; Cost of Illness; Costs and Cost Analysis; Disabilities; Dyslexia; Dyslexia - economics; Dyslexia - therapy; Economics; Education; Education, Special; Family Health; Family Life; Family Needs; Follow-Up Studies; Foreign Countries; Health Expenditures; Health Expenditures - statistics & numerical data; Health Services; Health Services - economics; Health Services - utilization; Humans; Hyperactivity; Intervention; Male; Males; Prospective Studies; Psychiatry; Psychoeducational Methods; Psychological Patterns; Psychology; Psykiatri; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Reading Difficulties; Reading Skills; Social Influences; Special; Special Education; Statistics & numerical data; Surveys and Questionnaires; Sweden; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Therapy; Time Factors; Utilization; Writing Difficulties; Writing Skills
• ISSN: 1087-0547; 1557-1246
• DOI: 10.1177/1087054707306116

Objective: The study aims to evaluate psychosocial, societal, and family cost consequences of a psychoeducational intervention program. Methods: Sixty boys with ADHD, Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism (AS/HFA), and reading and writing disorder (RD/WD) were allocated to participate in a service evaluation project. Every other boy in each diagnostic group was randomly allocated to receive either (a) a special education program (clinical index group) or (b) follow-up without the special education program (clinical comparison group). Nine years after initial assessments the stability of the psychosocial and economic resource consequences over time was studied. Results: ADHD, AS/HFA, and RD/WD all had severe impact on family life quality. The societal costs were high, but no significant differences in resource use or in total costs were found between the clinical index and the comparison groups. Conclusions: The results underscore the very long-term need for support including individually tailored reevaluations and carefully monitored intervention programs adapted to family needs and severity of child disorder. (J. of Att. Dis. 2008; 12(2) 141-148)