Note: Unimaginable yesterday, unmanageable today and unsustainable tomorrow.

By Anne Dachel

England/Wales: Number of children receiving disability support "more than doubles" in decade

AUTISM and ADHD are behind the surge

There is a national crisis unfolding in the U.K., and people seem surprised that it’s happening.

I’m referring to the disastrous statistics just published showing that over the last decade the number of children in England and Wales receiving disability benefits more than doubled. The reason behind the increase is AUTISM and ADHD.

Guardian: Warning over rise in children on disability benefits in England and Wales

In a new report, the Resolution Foundation thinktank points out that the number of children whose families receive disability living allowance (DLA) has more than doubled in the last decade, to 682,000.

The biggest shift has come among teenagers, with 8% of all 15-year-olds receiving DLA last year, up from 5% in 2013. . . .

The thinktank says the increase in DLA payments has been “almost entirely driven by awards made to children whose main condition is either a learning difficulty, behavioural disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)”.

Understanding and diagnoses of such conditions have increased rapidly in recent decades. A study by UCL researchers found a 20-fold increase in diagnoses of ADHD between 2000 and 2018. Another paper found that autism diagnoses had shot up by 787% over the 20 years from 1998. . . .

DLA, which includes a “mobility” and a “care” component, is worth between £28.70 [$37] and £184.30 [$240] a week, depending on how much additional help the child is deemed to need.

With claims rising sharply, the total cost of paying the benefit has increased from £1.9bn [$2.5B] to £4bn[$5B] in real terms over the past 10 years.

The spending watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast that the cost of all disability benefits will increase by almost half over the next five years, to £58bn [$75B].

 Independent: Surge in young people claiming disability benefits, research suggests

A study from the Resolution Foundation found 1.2 million children across England and Wales are living with a disability. . . .

The think tank said four in five children receiving the Child DLA had been diagnosed with a learning difficulty, behavioural disorder, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

There are even calls for the government to find out why there’s been this dramatic increase.

Ms Murphy said the Government needed to focus on tackling the underlying prevalence of disability.

“It is understandable that politicians want to reduce the rise in disability benefit spending,” she said.

“But to do that they will need to understand and address the root causes of rising disability among children.”

Still, the claim of greater awareness is out there.

A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring parents with children with disabilities are supported fairly.

“Awareness of neurodevelopmental conditions has increased over the past decade with a rise in the numbers of children seeking formal diagnoses reflected in those seeking support.”

Surge in young people claiming disability benefits, research suggests | UK News | Sky News:

. . .Ms Murphy added: "For example, the number of children being prescribed medication for ADHD and for conditions like anxiety and depression has increased quite significantly.

"And we've seen some quite troubling trends. For example, an increase in the number of children being admitted to hospital in relation to self-harm.

Since news outlets long ago stopped caring about the nonstop increases in disabled children globally, I wouldn’t expect them to understand what’s really happening here.

IF they were paying attention, members of the press in the U.K. would have noticed the nonstop increases in special needs students everywhere in the country over the last two decades.

On my site, LossOfBrainTrust, https://www.lossofbraintrust.com/ most of the news reports are from the U.K., and I can’t even begin to give examples of the disaster that is special education in that country, there are so many. There are literally thousands.

 I cite routine stories announcing yet another new autism/special school. There are the reports on “increased demand” and “more complex needs” out every day in the news. Kids are on waiting lists for years just for assessments, followed by waiting lists for services. Local councils are facing bankruptcy over the cost of special education.

Without fail there is never anyone asking where all these disabled children are coming from. The only solutions talked about are more funding and more special needs places.

Autism is never a problem

Just like in the U.S., members of the press in the U.K. call for celebrating autism awareness and acceptance every April. They credit the increases in autism to greater awareness of a disorder that’s always been around. They promote neurodiversity and inclusion and are never alarmed over the rate increases.

Across the U.K. something is terribly wrong with the developmental health of children.

Eight months ago the Glasgow Herald announced that 37 percent of Scottish students have special needs.

This scenario might sound far-fetched, but it is in fact just average. Figures published by the Scottish Government this week reveal that the number of children with additional support needs (ASN) has reached a record high of 259,036, or 36.7 per cent of pupils.

In 2020 that figure was 32 percent

In 2022, it was 34 percent of Scottish students.

Last month the press in Wales reported that 48 percent of children had “some form of additional learning needs.”

Where was the national alarm over these numbers?

And the cause of the explosion in special needs students is AUTISM.

In 2022, Schools Week in the U.K. published, SEND isn’t on the precipice – it’s tipped over the edge

Over half of the children and young people in special schools have a primary or secondary need of autism. For children in early years specialist settings, the figure is 65 per cent….

As far as autism is concerned, statistics are truly catastrophic in the U.K.

In May, 2023, the BBC reported that Northern Ireland had the highest rate of autism in the world.