Children in rural areas are more likely to have developmental disabilities and are less likely to receive special education or early-intervention services than children living in urban areas, says a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study from the center’s National Center for Health Statistics found that almost 20 percent of children ages 3 to 17 in rural areas qualified for a developmental-disability diagnosis, compared with 17 percent of children in urban areas.