Reclassification a possible cause of rise in Autism

thestandarddaily.com ^ | Jul 26, 2015 | Sean Waters

[BenLurkin]

Researchers at the Penn State University analyzed the data of enrollment of children in special education of 11 years and found out that the number has tripled which were 93,624 in 2000 to 419,647 in 2010. The researchers obtained the information data from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. An average of 6.2 million children was enrolled in special education classes between 2000 and 2010, with a 331 percent increase in the prevalence of autism during the decade.

The study was published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics. The study revealed that such high increase may be because of the diagnostic reclassification from common comorbid features such as the intellectual disability. Also many children do not just fall into just one category and have multiple disorders. The researchers also say that genetics also play a vital role in this increase as it can be hereditary.

According to a rough estimate about 65 percent of the increase can be attributed to reclassification of children from intellectual disability to autism. Among the 9 years old children 59 percent increase in autism is due to the reassignment and by the age of 15 a 97 percent rise in autism is because of reclassification

[goodwithagun]

If we sent our autistic son to our local public school, they would get $22,500K/year to “educate” him. Our private Catholic school educates him, including therapies and accommodations, for a fraction of that. Follow the money!