All of sudden, it seems there is a huge number of ‘special needs’ kids. How did that happen and what’s driving the increase in the number of such kids. Experts weigh in
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
If it seems like more children you know have an individualized education plan, you’re not imagining things.
Data gathered by the Pew Research Center from the National Center for Education Statistics states that the number of students in special education soared from 3.6 million in the 1976-77 school year, to almost 7.3 million in 2021-22. That’s 15% of the nation’s students.
“There’s more awareness of disability and the educators and providers are more attuned to possibilities,” said Christy Ashby, professor of inclusive special education and disability studies and the director of the Center on Disability and Inclusion at Syracuse University.
Universal screening is recommended at pediatrician’s offices. Changes in the diagnosis criteria make it easier for identifying children presenting with subtler symptoms of things like autism spectrum disorder who might still benefit from support.
In previous generations, children who might be noticed as “quirky” or “odd” may receive closer scrutiny — a second look that could help more children receive support they need.
As for identifying any kind of learning disability or other reason for an IEP, schools may be looking harder at students who lag.
“The pressure in schools has gone up,” Ashby said. “More kids were ending up in segregated education because of concerns that they wouldn’t keep up. There seems to be a rise of kids with mental health and sensory concerns. I’m not sure what that’s about, whether environmental.”
Heather Burroughs, director of advocacy and education at AutismUp in Rochester, referred to “From Snake Pits to Cash Cows: Politics and Public Institutions in New York” (Castellania, 2005) which said that in 1935, there were 135 cases of autism across the US compared with “hundreds of thousands now,” Burroughs said.
A mother of four children on the autism spectrum, Burroughs doesn’t pin the entire reason for more autism diagnoses on shifts in screening and diagnosis. She said that part of the reason could be that people with autistic traits are having children, meaning that more people would have autism.
“There’s a hereditary component; you can see it in several members of some families,” Burroughs said, noting that several people in her family are on the autism spectrum. One of her grandmothers exhibited traits then thought of as quirky, but not autism.
Burroughs also thinks that an environmental aspect may play a role in why people have autism. Anecdotally, some families have reported that eliminating certain food types or food additives helps mitigate their autistic child’s behavioral issues.
The “trigger” food varies even in the same family. Gluten, casein, refined sugar and certain food additives and preservatives are often named as culprits. However, improved behavior and life quality does not indicate a causal effect between foods and autism. But some people have discovered that eliminating some foods reduces unwanted behaviors in their children on the spectrum. No large-scale studies have identified a cause for autism.
Cathy Leogrande, PhD, professor in the education department at Purcell School of Professional Studies at Le Moyne College, has worked in education for 50 years. She said that in general, more children are being identified in school as require more support and intervention than ever in part because without a label, kids who are behind may not be able to receive appropriate help.
“Some of it is just unfortunate that we’ve lost things like reading teachers and support staff that was supported by the government,” Leogrande said. “There’s always money given for special ed and that’s sometimes the only way to get support for kids.”
Among some of those students are children who will not experience lifelong or large-impact impairment. They may lack the support at home to come to school as prepared as other children. When fourth, seventh and ninth grades come; those with moderate or less coping skills significantly struggle.
Leogrande said that’s when she receives the most referrals because the curriculum becomes tougher and with more homework.
“As the curriculum gets more difficult, kids who developed their own strategies get outmoded,” she said.
She also said that there are more children with problems, in part single-parent homes or homes where both parents work two jobs. This can leave gaps in skills that keep kids from excelling at school.
By contrast, she added that some children who could probably benefit from extra services don’t receive them in a formal way through an IEP because their teachers accommodate them in the classroom.