A comparison of patterns of disability in severely mentally handicapped children of different ethnic origins.

All severely mentally handicapped children aged 5-19 years from the city of Manchester were identified in a cross-sectional study. A standardized Disability Assessment Schedule was used to assess the variety and degree of disabilities experienced by each child and by specific subgroups of the children. This paper focuses upon differences between groups of European and Non-European ethnic origin. Boys showed more disabilities than girls in both groups, but non-European children had more severe disabilities in virtually all categories.