More Families have Children with Learning Disorders

[Guest guest]

http://www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~1549~1870562,00.html

More families have children with learning disorders

By Joan Lowy - SCRIPPS HOWARD

ONE in every three American families has had to cope with a child

with a learning disability or a mental illness and most people

believe such problems are increasing, according to a poll by Scripps

News Service and Ohio University.

In a national survey of 1,054 people, 65 percent said they believe

learning disabilities are becoming more common and 72 percent said

mental health problems are becoming more common.

Thirty percent of poll respondents said they have had a child under

age 18 in their family -- a brother or sister, son or daughter,

niece or nephew, grandchild or first cousin -- diagnosed with a

learning disability. Eight percent said they have had more than one

child diagnosed with a learning disability.

More than 12 percent said they have had a child in their family

diagnosed with a mental illness, and 3 percent said they have had

more than one child diagnosed.

" Those are staggering numbers, " said Hearne, executive

director of the nonpartisan Trust for America's Health. " The

implication is that we have a significant problem out there that we

are not adequately addressing. "

Inevitably, such disorders take a personal toll on the children and

their families and a larger toll on society.

Joan Iovino, for example, was identified in second grade by school

officials as both mentally " gifted " and learning disabled. She liked

to read Mark Twain and conduct science experiments with plants. On

certain intelligence and aptitude tests, she scored in the top 1

percentile.

When it came to math, however, Iovino felt like she was in a foreign

country where everyone spoke a language she didn't understand. All

but the simplest calculations were beyond her grasp. The worst was

when the teacher would ask students at random to solve an equation.

" I would sit there and think, 'Don't call on me, don't call on me,

don't call on me,' " said Iovino, 20, of Bethesda, Md. " At the time,

I didn't know why I couldn't do this. I thought, 'What's wrong with

me?' At least if another kid got it wrong the answer was sort of

close, but I was having to guess at random. "

Iovino -- now an honors student at a community college -- was

eventually diagnosed with dyscalculia, which is the inability to

learn to calculate. By sixth grade, she was in a class for the

learning disabled that included severely retarded and emotionally

disturbed students. Angry and alienated, she dropped out of school

the following year in favor of home schooling.

No one knows for certain why some children have learning

disabilities, attention disorders, autism or emotional disorders

like anxiety, depression and bipolar.

What's clear is that these disorders appear far more prevalent in

children than was generally thought a generation ago. Whether their

actual incidence is on the rise is a matter of fierce debate among

scientists, parents, educators and doctors.

There is a huge gender gap for many of the disorders. Studies have

shown that boys are three to four times more likely to be diagnosed

with autism than girls. Boys are also two to three times more likely

to be diagnosed with attention and learning disorders.

Many children are diagnosed with multiple disorders. About half of

children with attention disorders also have at least one learning

disability, and more than a third have an emotional disorder like

anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder, which is characterized by

mood swings.

" These labels are like grasping at straws, " said Dr. Martha Herbert,

a pediatric neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in

Boston. " They are getting at some surface differences among the

kids, but they don't get to the deep essence of what's going on with

them. "

Prescriptions to children and adolescents for psychiatric drugs more

than doubled in the decade ending in 1996, according to a study by

Dr. Zito of the University of land. Prescriptions for

antidepressants used to treat emotional disorders like anxiety,

depression and bipolar rose even faster than prescriptions for

stimulants used to treat attention and hyperactivity disorders.

Another recent study of pharmaceutical industry data by Yale

University researchers found that prescriptions to children and

adolescents for anti-psychotic drugs used to treat severe mental

illness went up 138 percent and other antidepressants were up 43

percent between 1997 and 2000.

Some parents, scientists and public health advocates are convinced

environmental influences ranging from viruses to chemicals such as

alcohol, lead, PCBs, pesticides and mercury are interfering with

brain development in children.

" This is an epidemic, " said Jo Rupert Behm, a nurse and past

president of the Learning Disabilities Association of California.

Behm's son, , was diagnosed at age 8 with three learning

disabilities and attention deficit disorder. " The public is only now

becoming aware of this. "

But some experts believe there is no real increase in the prevalence

of any of the disorders, except perhaps autism. Rather, they say

there has been a re-labeling of students who are perhaps less

intelligent or less industrious to explain their lack of academic

success.

Increases in prescription drugs are because of aggressive marketing

by pharmaceutical makers, reductions in insurance coverage for

mental health counseling, and parents and teachers looking for a

quick fix for unruly students, said Arthur Caplan, chairman of the

department of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania

Medical School.

Also, parents seek learning disability diagnoses for their children

so they can get extra help or consideration, Caplan said.

" They get more time on tests or it becomes a reason to give an

affirmative action look at a school admission, " he said. " It tends

to be used more as an explanation or an excuse. "

Greg Rosenthal, 39, a software developer in Rockville, Md., whose 10-

year-old daughter has been diagnosed as both intellectually " gifted "

and learning disabled, said he finds the suggestion that some

parents use learning disabilities to leverage the educational

system " highly offensive. "

[Guest guest]

thanks for sending that, it really touched me since I have a ld also

rebecca

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays, Y'all!!

More Families have Children with Learning Disorders

> http://www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~1549~1870562,00.html

>

> More families have children with learning disorders

> By Joan Lowy - SCRIPPS HOWARD

>

> ONE in every three American families has had to cope with a child

> with a learning disability or a mental illness and most people

> believe such problems are increasing, according to a poll by Scripps

> News Service and Ohio University.

>

> In a national survey of 1,054 people, 65 percent said they believe

> learning disabilities are becoming more common and 72 percent said

> mental health problems are becoming more common.

>

> Thirty percent of poll respondents said they have had a child under

> age 18 in their family -- a brother or sister, son or daughter,

> niece or nephew, grandchild or first cousin -- diagnosed with a

> learning disability. Eight percent said they have had more than one

> child diagnosed with a learning disability.

>

> More than 12 percent said they have had a child in their family

> diagnosed with a mental illness, and 3 percent said they have had

> more than one child diagnosed.

>

> " Those are staggering numbers, " said Hearne, executive

> director of the nonpartisan Trust for America's Health. " The

> implication is that we have a significant problem out there that we

> are not adequately addressing. "

>

> Inevitably, such disorders take a personal toll on the children and

> their families and a larger toll on society.

>

> Joan Iovino, for example, was identified in second grade by school

> officials as both mentally " gifted " and learning disabled. She liked

> to read Mark Twain and conduct science experiments with plants. On

> certain intelligence and aptitude tests, she scored in the top 1

> percentile.

>

> When it came to math, however, Iovino felt like she was in a foreign

> country where everyone spoke a language she didn't understand. All

> but the simplest calculations were beyond her grasp. The worst was

> when the teacher would ask students at random to solve an equation.

>

> " I would sit there and think, 'Don't call on me, don't call on me,

> don't call on me,' " said Iovino, 20, of Bethesda, Md. " At the time,

> I didn't know why I couldn't do this. I thought, 'What's wrong with

> me?' At least if another kid got it wrong the answer was sort of

> close, but I was having to guess at random. "

>

> Iovino -- now an honors student at a community college -- was

> eventually diagnosed with dyscalculia, which is the inability to

> learn to calculate. By sixth grade, she was in a class for the

> learning disabled that included severely retarded and emotionally

> disturbed students. Angry and alienated, she dropped out of school

> the following year in favor of home schooling.

>

> No one knows for certain why some children have learning

> disabilities, attention disorders, autism or emotional disorders

> like anxiety, depression and bipolar.

>

> What's clear is that these disorders appear far more prevalent in

> children than was generally thought a generation ago. Whether their

> actual incidence is on the rise is a matter of fierce debate among

> scientists, parents, educators and doctors.

>

> There is a huge gender gap for many of the disorders. Studies have

> shown that boys are three to four times more likely to be diagnosed

> with autism than girls. Boys are also two to three times more likely

> to be diagnosed with attention and learning disorders.

>

> Many children are diagnosed with multiple disorders. About half of

> children with attention disorders also have at least one learning

> disability, and more than a third have an emotional disorder like

> anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder, which is characterized by

> mood swings.

>

> " These labels are like grasping at straws, " said Dr. Martha Herbert,

> a pediatric neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in

> Boston. " They are getting at some surface differences among the

> kids, but they don't get to the deep essence of what's going on with

> them. "

>

> Prescriptions to children and adolescents for psychiatric drugs more

> than doubled in the decade ending in 1996, according to a study by

> Dr. Zito of the University of land. Prescriptions for

> antidepressants used to treat emotional disorders like anxiety,

> depression and bipolar rose even faster than prescriptions for

> stimulants used to treat attention and hyperactivity disorders.

>

> Another recent study of pharmaceutical industry data by Yale

> University researchers found that prescriptions to children and

> adolescents for anti-psychotic drugs used to treat severe mental

> illness went up 138 percent and other antidepressants were up 43

> percent between 1997 and 2000.

>

> Some parents, scientists and public health advocates are convinced

> environmental influences ranging from viruses to chemicals such as

> alcohol, lead, PCBs, pesticides and mercury are interfering with

> brain development in children.

>

> " This is an epidemic, " said Jo Rupert Behm, a nurse and past

> president of the Learning Disabilities Association of California.

> Behm's son, , was diagnosed at age 8 with three learning

> disabilities and attention deficit disorder. " The public is only now

> becoming aware of this. "

>

> But some experts believe there is no real increase in the prevalence

> of any of the disorders, except perhaps autism. Rather, they say

> there has been a re-labeling of students who are perhaps less

> intelligent or less industrious to explain their lack of academic

> success.

>

> Increases in prescription drugs are because of aggressive marketing

> by pharmaceutical makers, reductions in insurance coverage for

> mental health counseling, and parents and teachers looking for a

> quick fix for unruly students, said Arthur Caplan, chairman of the

> department of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania

> Medical School.

>

> Also, parents seek learning disability diagnoses for their children

> so they can get extra help or consideration, Caplan said.

>

> " They get more time on tests or it becomes a reason to give an

> affirmative action look at a school admission, " he said. " It tends

> to be used more as an explanation or an excuse. "

>

> Greg Rosenthal, 39, a software developer in Rockville, Md., whose 10-

> year-old daughter has been diagnosed as both intellectually " gifted "

> and learning disabled, said he finds the suggestion that some

> parents use learning disabilities to leverage the educational

> system " highly offensive. "

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> --------------------------------------------------

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>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Your welcome, it is I Irma sending the info. Have I told you how

much I'm so proud of you when you post. You have accomplish so much

and nothing stops you for coming this far. You turn it around to

help many. Thanks for being you, it makes a difference for many.

Happy New Year!

Hugs!

Irma,15,DS/ASD

> thanks for sending that, it really touched me since I have a ld

also

> rebecca

>

>

> Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays, Y'all!!

[Guest guest]

Irma,

I thought it was you sending the info. No you haven't accomplished me so

much about coming this far. Thanks so much, it means a whole lot for you to

accomplish me. Thanks, I try to help out many children, wheather autistic or

not. Your welcome, I think everyone makes a difference in some way or

another every day.

rebecca

> Hi ,

> Your welcome, it is I Irma sending the info. Have I told you how

> much I'm so proud of you when you post. You have accomplish so much

> and nothing stops you for coming this far. You turn it around to

> help many. Thanks for being you, it makes a difference for many.

> Happy New Year!

> Hugs!

>

> Irma,15,DS/ASD

>

>

> > thanks for sending that, it really touched me since I have a ld

> also

> > rebecca

> >

>