Long-term psychosocial and health economy consequences of ADHD, autism, and reading-writing disorder: a prospective service evaluation project.

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.