Dec 23, 2018, Helena (MT) Independent Record: Helena schools implementing new programs to address rising autism rates https://helenair.com/news/local/helena-schools-implementing-new-programs-to-address-rising-autism-rates/article_2ad8e2f4-564f-5c31-a4de-c88b1598aeed.html This is the first story in a two-part series about the rising number of Helena students with special needs, and the programs available to them. Helena's schools have recently seen a significant increase in conditions such as autism that can cause emotional disturbance and affect formal speech and language skills. According to data collected by the school district's special education department, autism in particular has ballooned by 109 percent over the past five years. The number of diagnosed students district-wide grew from 69 in 2013 to 144 in 2018. … “The tools to identify autism have gotten way better, but the category is very broad and ranges from high IQ/low social cognition to students with low social abilities and poor communication skills,” Maharg said. “We as a district have gotten better at identifying autism, but the frequency of impacted students has increased a lot since 2000.” Shelley Burbank, a board-certified behavioral analyst with the district, said that while awareness of autism is up, the overall number of affected students is also up in all races and classes in society. …
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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