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Abstract
The study examined the relationship between childrens season-of-birth and their development of disorder(s) within the Other Health Impaired (OHI) special education category. This research builds on past studies that examined season-of-birth effects for schizophrenia, learning disabilities, mental retardation, and nervous system disorders. The sample consisted of 8, 602 students (between the ages of 6 and 18 years) in the OHI special education category from 44 of the most northern counties in Georgia. It was postulated that the comparison of birth rates of children in the OHI special education category with birth rates of the general population would reveal that children in OHI are born at a disproportionate rate during the late spring and summer months (April to August). Chi square goodness of fit tests were used to compare the observed frequency of births per month for students in the OHI special education category with the expected frequency of births per month for students in the general population. Spectral analyses, a form of time series analysis, were utilized to determine if an annual cycle of births existed for children in the OHI special education category. Consistent with the hypothesis, the peak birth period for children in the OHI special education category was during the late spring and summer months. Spectral analyses revealed that the disproportionate late spring and summer birth rate pattern for children in the OHI special education category occurred as an annual cycle each year during the period September, 1984 - August, 1995.