In this era of diagnosis, a new study suggests that when a child is born can mean he or she is more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, MSNBC.com reports today.

North Carolina State University researchers found that children born just after the kindergarten eligibility cutoff date were 25 percent less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children born just before the cutoff date. Children born just after the cutoff date are among the oldest in their class, and those born just before the cutoff date are among the youngest in their class. – LiveScience via MSNBC.com, 8/18/10.

The research and story raise several concerns. For example, are many students receiving an incorrect diagnosis of ADHD only because they are the youngest in a classroom?

It is also only one of the latest developments in the debate over diagnosing mental disorders and mental illnesses in children. A label of youth bipolar or ADHD often comes with a prescription for drugs with side effects, even though there is disagreement about how those disorders are diagnosed.

Toddlers Using Stats: It turns out toddlers use statistics when they play, a new study says.

Researchers found toddlers relied on non-random sampling to decide what toys someone wants, according to work conducted by researchers at Cornell University, University of California, Berkeley and University of Michigan.

They watched the adult choose five toys that were either 18 percent or 82 percent of the toys in a box. The adult played happily with the toy either way, but the toddler only concluded that the adult had a preference if they'd picked the toys from a box in which that toy was scarce. – “Preschoolers Use Statistics to Understand Others.” HealthNewsDigest, 8/17/10.