Children with developmental disabilities, especially with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) become distracted easily, and may be more likely to be hit by a car while walking.

In the study, “Mediating Factors Associated with Pedestrian Injury in Children with ADHD,” in the August 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online July 25), researchers studied 78 children aged 7 to 10 who have ADHD, compared to 39 children with normal development. Researchers determined that children with ADHD appear to follow appropriate curbside behavior (wait before crossing, look left and right), but ultimately do not process the information necessary to safely cross the street compared to normally developing children. Children with ADHD chose smaller gaps in traffic to cross within, and had considerably less time to reach the end of the crosswalk before the next car approached, resulting in a more dangerous crossing environment.

Study authors suggest that pediatricians can help prevent these pedestrian injuries by screening for ADHD symptoms and monitoring at-risk patients to reduce injury risk.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.