As a speech and language therapist I have worked with many more boys than girls. This is no accident as a typical case load will consist of twice as many boys than girls.

Research is still being carried into the reasons for this distinction between the sexes.

There are also more boys than girls with a diagnosis of autism.

Now The Daily Mail has reported recently that boys are twice as likely to be diagnosed with special educational needs as girls, according to new Government figures.

It presents information including:

  • New government figures show there are 1.5 million children in state schools classed as having a learning difficulty or disability
  • Almost one million boys have special educational needs compared to around 500,000 girls who have been diagnosed with SEN
  • Can include behavioural issues, emotional and social difficulties and speech, communication and language needs
  • Pupils from poorer backgrounds and those in care are more likely to be considered to have a special need, the Department for Education found   


The Daily Mail claims that across England there are almost 1.5 million children in state schools, classed as having some form of learning difficulty or disability that makes it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age.

Of those, 911,900 boys have been diagnosed with SEN compared to 487,885 girls.

They include issues including behaviour problems, emotional and social difficulties and speech, communication and language needs.

Pupils from poorer backgrounds, those from some ethnic minorities and children in care are more likely to be considered to have a special need, the Department for Education’s (DfE) data shows.

It reveals that as of January, just over one in six pupils (17.9 per cent) were considered to have special educational needs (SEN) – a total of 1.49 million youngsters.

This figure has been in decline since 2010, when 21.1 per cent of children were classed as having SEN.

The latest statistics also show a continuing gulf between the sexes, with almost a million boys (911,900 youngsters) considered to have SEN, either with or without a statement of needs, compared to less than half a million (487,885) girls.

Boys are known to be more prone to being diagnosed with autism, though scientists are undecided as to why.

A recent study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, suggests girls require more extreme genetic mutations than boys to develop the condition.

As a result, it is less likely that they will be pushed over the diagnostic threshold for autism.


The new Government figures also show that pupils with SEN are more than twice as likely to be eligible for free school meals – a key measure of poverty – than those without learning difficulties (29.1 per cent compared to 13.4 per cent), while almost seven in 10 (67.8 per cent) of children in care have special needs.

Black pupils are most likely to be diagnosed with some form of learning difficulty or disability, the figures show, while Chinese youngsters are the least likely.

The most common types of need for pupils classed as having special needs are speech and language difficulties and behavioural and emotional issues, a Government analysis of the data concludes.

This analysis goes on to look at the achievement of SEN pupils, and shows that at the end of primary school, 34 per cent of youngsters with learning difficulties achieved the level expected of their age group in reading, writing and maths, compared to 88 per cent of their classmates.


At GCSE, in 2012/13 just under one in four (23.4 per cent) of SEN teenagers gained at least five C grades, including English and maths, compared to 70.4 per cent of those who were not considered to have a special need.

Today’s data comes just days after a new system of support for children with special needs came into effect.

Under the reforms, new education, health and care plans, which stretch from birth to 25, will replace SEN statements and learning disability assessments to create a ‘simpler and more joined up’ system in England.


The Daily Mail also revealed that a team of researchers earlier this year claimed to have discovered why autism is more common in boys than girls.

A study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, suggests girls require more extreme genetic mutations than boys to develop the condition.

As a result, it is less likely that they will be pushed over the diagnostic threshold for autism.

Study author Dr Sébastien Jacquemont, of the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland, said: ‘This is the first study that convincingly demonstrates a difference at the molecular level between boys and girls referred to the clinic for a developmental disability.

The study suggests that there is a different level of robustness in brain development, and females seem to have a clear advantage.

Research has previously shown that autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are both more common in boys.

Indeed, about 1.8 per cent of boys have autism compared to just 0.2 per cent of girls.

Some researchers have suggested that there is a social bias that increases the likelihood of diagnosis in boys, whereas others have proposed that there are sex-based differences in genetic susceptibility.

However, past studies investigating biological explanations for the gender bias have proved inconclusive.

To examine this question, Dr Jacquemont teamed up with Dr Evan Eichler, from the University of Washington School of Medicine, to analyse DNA samples from 16,000 people with neuro-developmental disorders – impairments in the development of the brain and central nervous system – and from 800 families affected by autism.

Neuro-developmental disorders include autism but also Down’s syndrome, ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome and traumatic brain injuries.

The researchers analysed both individual variations in the number of copies of a particular gene and DNA sequence variations.

They found that girls diagnosed with a neuro-developmental disorder including autism had a greater number of harmful genes than did boys diagnosed with the same disorder.

And women diagnosed with autism had a greater number of harmful DNA sequence variations than did men with autism.

The findings suggest that the female brain requires more extreme genetic alterations than does the male brain to produce symptoms of autism or other neuro-developmental disorders.

The results also take the focus off the male X chromosome for the genetic basis of the gender bias – they suggest that the genetic difference is seen across the DNA.

Dr Jacquemont said: ‘Overall, females function a lot better than males with a similar mutation affecting brain development.

Our findings may lead to the development of more sensitive, gender-specific approaches for the diagnostic screening of neuro-developmental disorders.



Further information

 

Written by Rachel Harrison

Speech and Language Therapist on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services