Two thirds of all students in special education are male, although they make up about half of all students. There is a more proportionate number of female students in the categories of visual impairment, hearing impairment, deafness, orthopedic impairment and other health impairment. In general, girls in special education may have more severe disabilities than boys. In one study, students who were given a test for reading disability, and did not meet the criteria for a reading disability based on the test results, but who had difficulties with behavior, attention, fine motor skills, and language were more likely to be identified as having a reading disability. Students who did meet the criteria for a reading disability based on test results, but were identified as having a reading disability were likely to have no behavior problems.
More adolescent girls experience depression than boys.
Those girls who do get identified as ED tend to show externalizing behaviors. Outcomes Girls in special education tend to do better than boys in school environments, e.g. they receive better grades, graduate at higher rates. However, once they are out of school, boys are more likely to be employed, have higher wages, work more hours, and are more likely to enroll in post secondary education or training. Advocates can also point out cases where gender seems to be a factor, e.g. female students with emotional impairments who are overlooked, or male students with behavior problems who have been wrongly identified as having learning disabilities. Often behavior problems can be solved successfully outside of special education with the right interventions.