July 12, 2018, Marion (IN) Chronicle Tribune: 'There is so much hope' https://www.chronicle-tribune.com/common/story.php?ID=4957&hl=There-is-so-much-hope It starts with a diagnosis. Concerned parents bring their children to a pediatrician and report that they aren’t hitting their developmental milestones, or are having trouble communicating, and the doctor suspects they may fall on the spectrum of autism. Around 2.5 percent of children in the US have some form of autism, and each one that comes into Hopebridge has their own set of goals and needs that are addressed in one-to-one therapy. Established 13 years ago, [when the autism rate was one in every 166 children], Hopebridge has dozens of facilities across Indiana and surrounding states dedicated to helping children with autism acclimate to a school environment and meet their developmental, physical and social goals. … Rooms ranging from quiet spaces, indoor play areas and sensory stations typically have two to three students each, and a therapist designated to each one…. In the future, she said Hopebridge may continue to expand according to the need in the community. Most of all, she said she wanted parents in Grant County to know that they are not alone. …
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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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