Immune disease, headaches, and handedness in learning disabled and regular education students

Abstract

The relationship of immune disease, headaches, and handedness to learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder (ADD) was investigated. Questionnaires were completed by the parents of learning disabled (LD) and regular education students attending public middle school. A measure of ADD was included to separate the sample of LD students into two categories: those with academic and behavior disorders and those with only academic disorders. Discriminant analyses failed to indicate a significant difference between the LD and regular education students on measures of immune disease, headaches, handedness, or attention deficit disorder. Chi-square analyses of the data indicated that the only significant difference between LD and regular education students was on a measure of allergies to food and drink where the LD students reported a higher incidence as compared to regular education students. Implications of these findings are discussed.