July 27, 2018, New Indian Express: [12.5%] One in eight kids may have neuro disorders in India http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/health/2018/jul/27/one-in-eight-kids-may-have-neuro-disorders-in-india-1849242.html NEW DELHI: Almost one in eight Indian children between the ages of 2 to 9 years, may have at least one neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) such as epilepsy, speech and language disorders and intellectual disability, an assessment of children from across the country has found. There are, however, few standards for the disorders and still fewer treatments available. The study, conducted by Narendra K Arora of the INCLEN Trust International, New Delhi, and 50 other colleagues, has assessed about 4,000 children, perceived as ‘normal’, at Palwal (Haryana), Kangra (Himachal Pradesh), Dhenkanal (Odisha), north Goa and Hyderabad and tested them for vision impairment, epilepsy, neuromotor impairments including cerebral palsy, hearing impairment, speech and language disorders, and intellectual disability. Older children were also tested for attention deficit hyperactivity and learning disorders. The analysis, which found that 475 of 3,964 children had at least one NDD. Among children with such disorders, 21.7 per cent had two or more disorders. Children with autism spectrum disorder, neuromotor impairments and epilepsy most frequently had other coexisting disorders. Prevalence of NDD varied according to site, from roughly 5 per cent (Dhenkanal) to roughly 19 per cent (Palwal), with hearing impairment and intellectual disorders.
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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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