Publishing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Christiane Winkler and. colleagues reported that about 0.03% of children in their German sample had presymptomatic type 1 diabetes and that nearly 10% of those children later developed clinical type 1 diabetes. Their article was entitled, “Screening Children for Early-Stage Type 1 Diabetes.” They found that their screening procedures identified over 80% of those cases.
Although the researchers did not directly examine it, I thought this finding was of special interest, because children with disabilities—including autism, Down syndrome, or intellectual disability (Dhanasekara et al., 2023; Lagan et al., 2020; Wallén et al., 2017; Yin et al., 2025)—are at higher risk for developing diabetes. Indeed, the value of screening for our kids seems especially important. Those who are at risk for developing type 1 diabetes could be reassessed regularly to monitor for the onset of diabetes. And, they could be candidates for early—and we would hope, preventative— intervention.
Parents of children with disabilities will, I hope, request screening. Even though diabetes may not be an educational issue, in consideration of students’ general well-being, educators of children with disabilities should alert parents to the value of screening.
References
Dhanasekara, C. S., Ancona, D., Cortes, L., Hu, A., Rimu, A. H., Robohm-Leavitt, C., ... & Kahathuduwa, C. N. (2023). Association between autism spectrum disorders and cardiometabolic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 177(3), 248-257.
Lagan, N., Huggard, D., Mc Grane, F., Leahy, T. R., Franklin, O., Roche, E., ... & Molloy, E. J. (2020). Multiorgan involvement and management in children with Down syndrome. Acta Paediatrica, 109(6), 1096-1111.
Wallén, E. F., Ljunggren, G., Carlsson, A. C., Pettersson, D., & Wändell, P. (2018). High prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and obesity among persons with a recorded diagnosis of intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 62(4), 269-280.
Winkler, C., Friedl, N., Abt, R., Ackermann, K., Bently, J., Braig, S., Brämswig, S., Dunstheimer, D., Ermer, U., Dominik, E., Gerstl, E.-M., Hammersen., J., Haupt, F., Hergi, M., Hubemann, M., Hummel, S., Jochem, B., Knopff, A., Lange, K., Lwowsky, D., Neilen-Hellmutg, N., Prey, B., Rettner, D., Schill, S., Schmidet, S., Scholz, M., Sindichakis, M., Stock, J., Stricker, D., Völkl, T. M., K, Warnocke, K., Weber, L, Weiss, A., Bonifacio, E., Achedbach, P., & Ziegler, A.-G. (2026). Screening children for early-stage type 1 diabetes. JAMA, 335(23), 2046-2056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105167
Yin, C., Deng, C., Crespi, C. M., Bar, S., Carey, C. D., Brickner, M. E., Chack, E., Schafer, E. C., Barjaktorevic, I., Inoue, K., Hansen, J., & Heck, J. E. (2025). The relation between Down syndrome and co-occurring conditions in children and young adults: A population-based cohort in Denmark, 1977–2016. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 167, 105167.