Developmental disabilities and behavioral problems among school children in the Western Cape of South Africa

This descriptive cross-sectional study estimates the frequencies and kinds of potential developmental disabilities (DD) and behavior problems (BP) among children in grades R and 1 who attend a primary public school in rural Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Data were collected on 174 children aged 5.1-8.8 years using the Ten Question Screener (10QS) and the Developmental Behaviors Checklist-Short form.

For the entire sample, 42% (n=73) screened positive for 1 or more possible DD on the 10SQ. Twenty-one percent (n=36) screened positive for one or more possible DDs. Thirty-six percent (n=63) of the sample scored above the cutoff for a behavioral problem that may be clinically significant. For this group the proportion of females (n=36, 39%) was slightly higher than males (n=28, 35%).

The percent of possible DDs and BP among children in grades R and 1 is higher than the number of learners with special needs reported by the Principal for the entire school (18.7%). The findings from this study suggest that there may be more learners than formally designated who have special educational needs that may benefit from special educational programs (e.g. speech, occupational, language, etc.). There may be a need for expanded remedial educational and behavioral services in this school and elsewhere in the district.