Habilitative therapy among preschool children: Regional disparities in the early intervention population

Using data on children under three years of age from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health (n=16,953), this study uses logistic regression to identify the presence of disparities in the use of habilitative therapy (physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy) among all children, strong candidates for therapy due to physical or developmental issues, and children for whom there is a parental concern about speech. Region of residence emerges as a source of disparity: (1) Children in the South exhibit consistently low levels of therapy use, and (2) children with speech concerns in all regions of the country outside the Northeast are less likely to use therapists than children in the Northeast. Other variables gaining significance include age of child, gender, race, presence in a nuclear family, and insurance status, though the influence of these variables is not consistent.