Ripped From the Headlines.....

[Guest guest]

Of course they include the comment

"it’s much more daunting to think of the number of adults out there who have never been identified and served.â€

So they can claim there is no REAL increase, just better diagnosis.

http://www.app.com/article/20110531/NJLIFE04/305310001/Nearly-1-7-kids-disabilities?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|s

Nearly 1 in 7 kids have disabilities

5:59 AM, May. 31, 2011

The number of children with developmental disabilities has increased by 17 percent in 12 years, driven largely by big jumps in diagnoses for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, research shows.

More than 15 percent of school-age kids — about 10 million children — had a developmental disability in 2006-08, according to a study released earlier this month in the journal Pediatrics. That’s up from 12.8 percent in 1997-99.

The study suggests that three or four children in a typical elementary school classroom have development disabilities. Some of the increase may be the result of the rise in premature birth, which leaves some babies with lasting impairments, says study author Sheree Boulet of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in eight babies today is born prematurely, according to the March of Dimes.

In the past, many children who had problems learning or talking would have been dismissed as odd, says Alison Schonwald of Children’s Hospital Boston. Today, these children are more likely to be diagnosed with a problem. Parents may push for an official diagnosis so their children can receive medication, special education or other services, says Schonwald, who wasn’t involved in the new study.

“It’s great to diagnose them early, so we can intervene early and help them reach their full potential.†Though the high rate of disability is sobering, she says, “it’s much more daunting to think of the number of adults out there who have never been identified and served.â€

Others say the study underestimates the number of kids with developmental disabilities. Many kids with learning disabilities, for example, aren’t diagnosed until they’re 11 or 12, says Neal Halfon of the University of California-Los Angeles. So the new study, which included kids ages 3 to 17, may have missed some of them, he says. Halfon notes that schools have a disincentive to test kids for learning problems, because a diagnosis would require them to pay for special ed.

And some, such as Philip Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, say improvements in screening and diagnosis can’t completely explain the increase. Landrigan says research suggests that environmental chemicals, such as pesticides and the phthalates found in many soft plastics and cosmetics, can affect children’s development.

The study also underscores the need to help parents and teachers of disabled students, says pediatrician of the University of Utah School of Medicine, who wasn’t involved in the study.

“We need to have better resources to take better care of these kids,†she says.

Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants.

Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you.

Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Ben lin