By Anne Dachel

On my website, LossOfBrainTrust.com, I continue to post stories on the decline of education and childhood in the 21^st century.  I can only conclude that this disaster will never be addressed for what it is by officials. SOMEHOW we’ll just struggle on until everything collapses. These stories are just a sample and they speak for themselves. I really have no words of my own for this

April 21, 2019, (UK) Telegraph: Seven-year-old boy threatened to stab pregnant teacher in stomach as union warns of rise in pupil violence

A seven-year-old boy threatened to stab a pregnant teacher in the stomach over a literacy lesson, it emerges as a union warns of a rise in children who do not respond to any form of punishment.

…families need to be held accountable for their children’s behaviour, explaining: “If your child is constantly disruptive, if they are violent, if they are abusive, I think it’s about time that schools and teachers question the parenting of those children.

April 20, 2019, (Canada) Study Finds: Study: 1 In 5 Children Suffers From A Mental Health Disorder 

One in five children suffer from a mental disorder — with notable increases in depression and anxiety over the past 30 years — yet less than one- third have had contact with a mental healthcare provider, a new study finds.

April 20, 2019, (Canada) Durham (ON) Region: Durham school board expecting 350 to 400 more students with autism over the next year Board chair says budget process will be 'very difficult' 

The Durham District School Board is anticipating an influx of students with autism over the next year, as a result of changes to Ontario’s autism program.

A new report says an additional 350 to 400 students with autism who have "significant needs" are expected by winter 2020 — about triple the normal amount.

April 20, 2019, (UK) Guardian: One in four teachers 'experience violence from pupils every week'—Many say poor behaviour is making them want to leave the profession, NASUWT finds

One in four teachers in the UK say they experience physical violence from their pupils at least once a week, and many say poor behaviour is making them want to leave the profession, according to figures compiled by a teaching union….

Nearly nine in 10 teachers said they had received some sort of verbal or physical abuse from pupils in the past year. Eighty-six per cent said they had been sworn at and 46% said they had been verbally threatened….

“Having taught for almost 40 years I have witnessed a demonstrable and seemingly unstoppable deterioration in pupil behaviour,” one said.

April 19, 2019, Fox26, Fresno, CA: Sinclair Cares: Popular places catering to autistic children

By Anne Dachel

Dr. Walter Zahorodny from Rutgers is EVERYWHERE in print and broadcast news right now talking about the ALARMING, GROWING AUTISM RATE IN NJ which he says will continue to get even worse.

Science Daily put it this way.

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which uses research by Rutgers University, shows a significant increase in the percentage of 4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder in New Jersey.

 The study found the rate increased 43 percent from 2010 to 2014 in the state.

The report, released April 11, found that about one in 59 children has autism. New Jersey's rate was the highest of the states studied: one in 35. That puts the national rate of autism at 1.7 percent of the childhood population and New Jersey's autism rate at 3 percent.

…The analysis of this young group of children shows U.S. autism rates are continuing to rise without plateauing.

"It's very likely that the next time we survey autism among children, the rate will be even higher," [Zahorodny] said....

The researchers can't explain why autism rates have increased across the United States. Factors associated with a higher risk include advanced parental age (children of parents over age 30 have heightened risk), maternal illness during pregnancy, genetic mutations, birth before 37 weeks gestation and multiple births.

"These are true influences exerting an effect, but they are not enough to explain the high rate of autism prevalence," said Zahorodny. "There are still undefined environmental risks that contribute to this significant increase, factors that could affect a child in its development in utero or related to birth complications or to the newborn period. We need more research into non-genetic triggers for autism."

IT IS DESPICABLE, in my opinion, for this medical expert to make these idiotic claims about causation.

IN 2012 on  NY radio he admitted that YES, VACCINES ARE LINKED TO AUTISM.  I wrote about it 2015.

Media Heats Up on Vaccine Debate

Back in April, 2012, Zahorodny was featured on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC radio.

http://www.irishbeo.com/Irish_Beo/School_Stories/School_Stories.html

Note: Here is just one take away from this article, and the same thing is happening here in the USA. Dec 1, 2018, (Ireland) Extra IE: 33 teachers took leave this academic year after being assaulted by pupils. Assault. Behavior. Students in pain and frustrated. Teachers ill equipped for this new normal. 

We'll be wearin’ the green this weekend, the Chicago River will flow green, the beer will flow from coast to coast as America celebrates St. Patrick's Day on the 17th.  Who can drive out the scourge of autism on Ireland's children?  And yes, for most, it is indeed a scourge.

By Anne Dachel

A recent story on from Ireland got my attention. It’s proof that those in charge will never recognize the decline of children. Sinn Fein representative Kathleen Funchion comes across as a champion of disabled students.  She’s adamant that more needs to be done for autistic kids in Ireland, all the while pretending that autism is a normal and acceptable part of childhood.

Mar 7, 2019, (Ireland) Kilkenny Now: Kathleen Funchion: ‘Why are autistic children being treated differently in Kilkenny?’ 

Sinn Fein official asks:

Why is there an acute shortage of ASD classes for secondary students in Kilkenny?...

Concerned parents have approached me over recent months over their fear that there will be no secondary school places in Kilkenny for their child when the time for them to enrol arrives.

This concern is not an arbitrary fear, it is based on parents’ experiences approaching secondary schools in our constituency and being told there is little hope for their child’s admission to a school that provides an ASD class or that the waiting list is full….

The good news is, autism really isn’t a problem. We’re just noticing it more.  We need to provide more room in schools.

…Every school in our constituency needs to acknowledge that diagnostic rates are increasing among our population and we must deliver for that changing demographic….

In fact, all the autistic children bankrupting Irish schools are a sign of progress.

We are fortunate to be living in a time in Ireland where these diagnoses are happening more readily and gone are the days of simply ignoring a child who appears to be ‘different’….

Funchion, of course, is presiding over the end of childhood as we’ve always known it. Her lack of interest in the explosion in autism (and special education in general in Ireland) is outrageous. It brings to mind the real meaning of the charge, “callous disregard.” Her pretense that the autism epidemic is just something we need to adjust to, defies common sense and endangers the future of the Republic.

Funchion sees the neglect rampant in Irish schools as one isolated worry that can be fixed with more places for kids with ASD.  Special education is the biggest problem in education in Ireland, but she is oblivious to it all.

Here are just some of the recent stories about Ireland that I’ve posted on LossOfBrainTrust.com

They  that should have the attention of everyone in the government in Ireland, including Kathleen Funchion. Schools are being overwhelmed by students who can’t learn or behave normally in the classroom.  Meanwhile those in charge tell us it isn’t happening.

Mar 1, 2019, (Ireland) Kildare Nationalist: Official opening of school's sensory room 

Acting principal Ross Dignam said students with sensory needs and self-regulation requirements will find that the features of this room will be of great benefit when seeking sensory stimulation.

“The room will allow a student to regulate themselves for a short period so that they can re-engage with their other learning activities in a more concentrated way,” he said.

Mr Dignam  explained that there will  be a maximum of three students in the sensory room at any one time, as the room is not for ordinary classroom work but instead will act as “an aid to self-regulation between learning activities” for the school’s pupils…

By Anne Dachel

Recent news stories here are ones that we should all be concerned about.  They’re part of the 3,900+ reports I’ve posted on Loss of Brain Trust. 

Most of the articles are from other countries, especially Britain, so it’s clear that the decline of childhood is happening simultaneously around the world. Disabled and dysfunctional children are overwhelming school budgets and classroom teachers, yet there is no real alarm, no demand for answers.

The reader is left with one thought: How long can this go on?

Mar 4, 2019, (Canada) Toronto Star: Schools unprepared for influx of kids with autism, principals say 

Most school staff aren’t trained to “treat, teach or manage” children with autism — and boards aren’t ready for an influx of students in a few weeks’ time when changes to the autism program come into effect, warn Ontario principals. …

As of April 1, families will be eligible for up to $20,000 a year for each child under 6, to a lifetime maximum of $140,000, to be used for the services of their choice. Children older than that can access up to $5,000 a year up to age 18, to a lifetime maximum of $55,000. …

Mar 4, 2019, (UK) Kent Online:  Children waiting up to two years for ADHD, autism and dyslexia diagnosis

Children in Kent showing signs of ADHD, autism, dyslexia or learning and communication disorders are spending two years without a formal diagnosis.

^{Mar 4, 2019, (UK) Gloucestershire Live: These are the number of kids kicked out of school and here’s why}

Half of the 139 permanent exclusions were pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The findings, released by Gloucestershire County Council in a report, also reveal the state of an increasing number of kids being home-schooled in the county. …

According to the report, the most common reason for permanent exclusions in primary school is persistent disruptive behaviour.

There has also been a rise in the number of pupils permanently excluded for physical assault against an adult or pupil, from five to seven…..

^{Mar 4, 2019, (UK) North Somerset Times: Improvements to special education needs funding approved} 

The amount spent on children with SEND is increasing and the funds available do not match demand….

However, an increasing number of pupils with complex needs are managed in mainstream schools. …

Paul Shattuck

By Anne Dachel

This is the frightening future for the coming generation(s) of autistic children in America:  DENIAL.

Anyone who reads the Feb 20, 2019 piece in The Atlantic entitled,The Coming Care Crisis as Kids With Autism Grow Up—The number of adults with autism diagnoses is soaring, but there aren’t enough programs and services to meet the demand, by writer and doctoral candidate Noah Remnick,  will understand that members of the press just don’t care.

First of all, the “crisis” Remnick sees when it comes to autism is the lack of services for adults. AUTISM itself is not a crisis, in fact Remnick assures us that autism has always been here, we just didn’t notice.

Although people with autism have always existed, the United States saw a tremendous spike in diagnoses beginning in the late 1990s, due in part to increased public awareness of the disorder and improvements in evaluation.

How is that possible?  How could educators, parents, and doctors over many past generations never have recognized the collective signs and symptoms of autism? Why have schools during the last twenty years had to train teachers to deal with autistic students? (We’ve had disabled children in school by federal law for the past 45 years.)

Remnick acknowledges that the explosion in autism among children began in the last 90s, yet the statistics he cites to compare are from AFTER THE 1990s.

About one in every 59 children is diagnosed with autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up from one in every 150 in 2000.

By Anne Dachel

As the saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” If you want a current example of that regarding autism numbers, you have only to look at the January 21, 2019 piece from the Sacramento Bee by Michael Finch II.  

Notice the stunning title: Special education enrollment in California is up. No one can say exactly why.

It was the same sense of mystery that always surrounds coverage of autism and for good reason.

The Modesto Bee, the Napa Valley Register, and the San Luis Obispo Tribune quickly republished the Sac Bee piece, and even though the headline talked about special education, the piece was almost entirely about the exploding number of kids with autism in California schools.

The story started with the example of twin boys who, according to their mom, a physician’s assistant, were “normal and healthy at first” and later diagnosed with autism and cerebral palsy.

Of course it isn’t just autism happening to SPED, but it’s an overwhelming part of the story.

Special education enrollment has surged in the last decade, with more than 96,000 students pouring into school districts across the state, according to data from the California Department of Education.

One of the drivers has been a marked increase in students with autism and other behavioral delays, a Bee analysis shows. At the same time, the number of students with other disabilities grew modestly or decreased between the 2009 and 2018 school years.

Once again, Finch retreated to the standard autism shoulder shrug:

Although the trend is undeniable, no one can say exactly why it’s happening.

More of the mystery.

Brian Peterson, Star Tribune

Note: Harsh words in that headline? Maybe. The wall is divisive enough. It's tangible and easy to make a fast mental picture. Special Education is not as easy to imagine.  Special Education will pit parent against parent. From our Anne Dachel, a story that ran yesterday from Minnesota. Years ago, we began reporting on the catastrophic birth of autism within the Somali immigrant population.  Dec 17, 2013, MinnPost.com: Autism highest among Minneapolis' Somali and white children, U study finds Take note of the beautiful child in the photo. Somali.

"We don't need no education. We don't need no thought control." Pink Floyd

###

By Anne Dachel

Saturday, Jan 19, the Minneapolis Star Tribune posted a very concerning piece online entitled, Minnesota schools facing 'crisis level' in special education funding. 

It was featured on the front page of the Sunday Star Tribune.

The COST of special education is increasingly a financial calamity for schools in the state with no signs of leveling off.

The response to this headline from any thinking person would be, why? Why is the cost of SPED now a crisis?

Of course school districts have no choice but to address this because the federal government mandates that they provide a free and appropriate education for every student, even the most disabled children.

The Star Tribune reported:

School administrators say the mandate's growing financial burden is threatening their ability to provide the same for all students. 

Soaring special education costs are squeezing the budgets of Minnesota schools — and quickly becoming school districts’ top priority for the new legislative session.

School administrators are quick to note that they cannot — and would not — deny special education students their right to an education that meets their needs, no matter the cost. But they say the mandate’s growing financial burden is threatening their ability to provide the same for all students.

So what happens when the cost of SPED students sucks dry the funds for regular ed kids?

By Anne Dachel

Dr. Orit Stoller, a pediatric neurologist with ALUT, the Israeli Society for Children and Adults with Autism

No matter what kinds of increases are happening, nothing will be done to address them. I’m convinced of it. Stories about more and more special education students, more diagnosed with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, mental problems should be getting everyone’s attention, but the old bromides about better diagnosing/greater awareness show no signs of going away.

One of the first Loss of Brain Trust website stories of the new year is a chilling example of how education is changing around the world.

On Jan 3, 2018, (Israel) Haaetz published the story, Israel Sees 12 Fold Increase in Autistic Children in Special Ed Since 2000, by Shira Kadari-Ovadia.

'Israel’s increase is exceptional': In 2000 there were 894 autistic children in special education, in 2018 the number has grown to 11,145 …

The number of autistic children in special education has grown more than 12-fold in less than two decades, from 894 in 2000 to 11,145 in 2018, a new report said.

Calm down.  One in every 40 kids with autism is nothing to worry about.

Once again the officialdom in Atlanta [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has announced that the autism rate is higher than previously believed, and once again, we’re told that IT DOESN’T MEAN MORE CHILDREN ACTUALLY HAVE AUTISM.

I’ve been writing on this phenomenon over the last couple of decades.

EACH AND EVERY TIME an update in the numbers came out, there was ALWAYS the caveat added by some expert and featured by all in the mainstream media that assured the public that the new rate was nothing to worry about—no real change.

When the news broke on the latest findings, I could predict that every major news outlet covering it would ONCE AGAIN deny any real increase and would ONCE AGAIN attribute the numbers to better counting and greater awareness. And this time we’re told it’s also due to different methods of gathering data.

The message to the American people ONCE AGAIN is: AUTISM IS NOT, NOR WILL IT EVER BE, A CRISIS.  

Remember back to last April when the rate of one in 59 U.S. children was announced?

THE NEW JERSEY RATE CITED AT THAT TIME WAS ONE IN EVERY 34 CHIDREN (one in every 22 boys).  You’d think people would have been in a panic to explain the NJ numbers—why the big difference?  (Or why there is NEVER a comparable rate of autism found among ADULTS.)

Note: No one has done more to ring the bell of alarm over the autism epidemic worldwide than our own Anne Dachel. Here, she reports on a similar disconnect between the difficult reality of autism's never ending climb and what seems to be a hallucinatory denial of the severity.   There is no known cause, just coincidence.  Dr. Wazed Hossain knows in her very heart of hearts (insert gag) that it is NOT vaccines - that theory has never been replicated (wrong) and has been "debunked."  When  you read the word debunked you must ALWAYS put on your bull&hit goggles. It's a playbook code word. No matter the topic. Debunked means, dismissed.

By Anne Dachel

An article published on Oct 23, 2018 by a news source in Sri Lanka shows just how paralyzed experts are when it comes to addressing autism.

The piece, Autism may reach epidemic proportions in Lanka, warns WHO expert Dr. Saima Wazed Hossain,   contains a maze of remarks that will only leave the reader mystified. 

Hossain, "an expert on neuro-developmental disorders," is actually very clever at double speak. Take your pick of her views from this interview:

She sounds worried about the rising rate.

 "Autism has reached alarming numbers worldwide, and that it may reach epidemic proportions in Sri Lanka."

 "It is an increasing number all over the world." 

And in the same breath she chalks it up to better diagnosing, no real increase.

 "It is believed, awareness and better diagnostic mechanisms are exposing more and more numbers that would not have come to light otherwise."

She tells us to be patient when it comes to finding the cause of autism.

"No specific cause has been established for the rise. It takes time to know if there is a connection to our changing lifestyle, if something related is causing this genetic mutation to effect."

Hossain cites DDT exposure, cosmetics, and processed food as possibly linked to autism.

Again she focuses on an increase.

The first article I found on Saturday, October 20^th made me stop my news search. It was about a 10 year boy in County Cork, Ireland and the desperate situation faced by him and his family.

I couldn’t get over the number of things affecting this child that were mentioned in this piece.

This story talked about depression, autism, suicide attempts, anxiety, mental illness, meltdowns, sensory processing disorder, dysregulation disorder (and head and stomach pain)—all in one little boy!

It also described a system that’s broken. This mother is at the end of her rope. She faces endless waiting lists and constant worry about her son’s actions, especially his anger issues affecting the whole family.

What really stood out to me was the fact that all the problems his mother described are now common in American schools. Issues long associated WITH AUTISM are increasingly recognized in kids WITHOUT an ASD diagnosis.  

Scary stuff

I have now compiled over 3,000 stories since January 2017   on the declining health and performance of children.

Schools EVERYWHERE in the world are dealing with exploding special education numbers, huge behavioral and sensory issues, self-harm, violence, and anxiety.  We’re now used to horrific rates of neurological/behavioral disorders profoundly affecting CHILDREN.

Where’s the alarm?

By Anne Dachel

Sept 25, 2018, My Central Jersey published the piece, New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence http://njace.us/ established at Rutgers University

The latest from the state with the highest rate of autism is a report that announced the creation of the NJ Autism Center of Excellence.  The NJACE is there to “improve research, treatment and services for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).”

Elizabeth Torres, associate professor of psychology at Rutgers, one of the heads of the center said she hopes that they’ll become a model for programs around the U.S.

We were told about the stunning difference between the national rate and the autism numbers in New Jersey alone.

“While autism affects one in 59 children in United States, one in 34 children has the disorder in New Jersey.” (And it should be added that among boys, the New Jersey rate is one in 22.)

Torres talked about the lack of insurance coverage, the need for therapy and the absence of employment opportunities for people with autism.

James Millonig, an associate professor in neuroscience and cell biology at Rutgers, is also part of the leadership of the NJACE. He promised to focus on research, treatment and employment for people with autism. They’re going to be working with the New Jersey Autism Council ‘in order to advance and disseminate the understanding, treatment, and management of ASD.’

Our Anne Dachel puts out daily reports from around the world about the decline of pediatric health including the sharp increase in mental health problems.  "Worrisome" is an understatement used by US News (no friend to autism or vaccine injury) designed to keep the panic low. We don't panic, we don't have that luxury. We will sound the alarm.  A Presidential alert would be nice too. Insert eye roll emoji here. The lack of concern from the White House following promises that have disappeared into the ether is.... worrisome.

WED UPDATE: https://www.lossofbraintrust.com/

SIX STORIES:  3 from the U.S., one from the U.K., 2 from Ireland

US News: (Another of the mainstream outlines that has IGNORED the rapid decline in the mental/behavioral/physical wellbeing of children)

We’re told MENTAL HEALTH/BEHAVIORAL ISSUES ARE RISING AMONG KIDS. It’s pretty bad. We’re told 20%, even 25% of kids are affected.

No explanation is given. The AAP is calling for universal screening.

ALSO: “Rising rates of anxiety, autism spectrum disorder and aggression are also worrisome….”

Maryland: Governor okays new student app so they can report threats to schools.

DeKalb County, GA: Autistic 13 yr old stabs another student with a scissors at school today. 

Ireland: An autistic child costs $41K (US dollars) per family. $21K in social services.

UK: New SPED school to cost $4.5M (US dollars). Kids who can’t be educated in regular schools.

UK: SPED teachers in Ireland are asking for training in restraint use with out-of-control students.

By Anne Dachel

(UK) Bath and North East Somerset Council: ‘We are all on the autistic spectrum’

Britain has surrendered to the loss of its children. They’ve given up without a fight, much like the U.S. has done. Nothing could make that fact clearer than what happened at a meeting of the Bath and North East Somerset Council on September 13^th when the subject was autism.

The meeting was covered in Somerset Live  in a piece entitled, Motion backed to ensure people with autism in Bath and North East Somerset get the help they need.

“People with autism” makes it sound like autism effects all ages equally, yet the article was almost exclusively about children with autism and their needs.

The words “child” and “children” were both used throughout the piece.

“He said he knows of a child who needed…”

“…children waiting years for a diagnosis.”

‘Every child deserves an equal chance…’

‘We have to get children suspected of having autism …’

The only reference to adults on the spectrum was from one council member who mentioned that his partner recently was diagnosed with Asperger’s (as if an independent adult with a claim of high functioning autism is comparable to the non-verbal, aggressive 16 year old still in diapers).

‘We are all on the autistic spectrum’

Bath council member Tim Ball went so far as to declare, ‘We are all on the autistic spectrum at some point’—a  statement that showed he either has no understanding of what huge numbers of parents are dealing with, or he’s trying to make autism into a normal and acceptable part of the human condition. 

By Anne Dachel

Here is my update on childhood in the 21^st century as shown in news coverage from the past week. It’s impossible to think that officials are blind to what’s happening everywhere. What will it take for them to admit this is an absolute disaster that simply can’t continue?

Here are ten stories that prove my point.

Austin, TX: School nurses have to deal with the decline in children's health. Children today have problems unlike anything kids experienced a decade or two ago.

Aug 24, 2018, Austin (TX) Statesman: What does the school nurse want to know about your child? A lot.

If you think school nursing is just about taking temperatures and handing out bandages, a visit to the Kids First workshop at the University of Texas School of Nursing proves you wrong pretty quickly.

During the course of two days earlier this month, about 300 nurses from districts around Central Texas learned the latest in managing ADHD, diabetes and mental health disorders, how to recognize child abuse and how to look for signs of stress and sleep deprivation in students…..

What has changed is some of the things that are coming into nurses’ offices that weren’t decades ago. Mental health crises, particularly depression and anxiety, and problems with stress management come into the office more frequently, says Violet Filley, who has been a nurse for 23 years and works with sixth-graders to 12th-graders at Round Rock Opportunity Center. …

Laconia, NH: Parents are asked to fill out ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE forms about their children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has supplied the “science” showing that trauma at home is profoundly affecting children. Parents are responsible for disruptive students.

Aug 25, 2018, Laconia (NH) Daily: Laconia school tackling challenges of childhood trauma

By Anne Dachel

Welcome to a two part Skype talk with New York attorney Patricia Finn.  Patricia explains her work in vaccine court representing children injured by vaccines, and she advises parents seeking a religious or medical vaccine exemption in New York State.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQBx-1I_tPo&t=11s

Hi everybody. My name is Patricia Finn. I’m an attorney.

I’ve been an attorney for fifteen years. The minute I got out of law school, I hung up my shingle, and I was looking at constitutional issues, First Amendment issues, religious freedom things that were very important to me personally.

Right out of the gate I was flooded with requests from parents seeking religious exemptions to vaccination.

To be honest with you, I didn’t at the time know very much about autism and vaccine injury.

I knew about the constitutional issues involving parental rights… I didn’t know how big it is and how hard it would be—and it has been hard. It’s been very, very hard, but rewarding. …

I represent about 10,000 families right now. We’ve been very successful. I’ve brought about a hundred law suits in vaccine court for vaccine injuries, civil rights cases involving religious exemptions.

I’m a litigator, and I’ve cut my teeth. I’m here to help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1QGEOMgwWg&t=2s

“I’m going to talk to you a little bit about the school exemption process. What that means is, if you’re a parent, and you do not want to vaccinate your child, and you want them to go to a public school, …  If your child is not vaccinated, you cannot participate in these programs unless you get an exemption.

“I’m going to talk a little bit about the exemption process in New York, which is a little unique in that it is highly exercised….There’s been a ton of litigation here in New York. I’ve brought multiple cases, and there was lawyer before me named James Filenbaum, who brought a very important case called Sharon Levy v. Northport .

By Anne Dachel

Over the past week science has once again spoken on the declining health of children in the 21^st century. And like the autism epidemic we celebrate every April, it’s nothing to really be concerned about, besides no one can explain why it’s happening anyway.

I’m talking about the findings that CNN, CNBC, Fox News, TIME and other sources announced recently, namely that 10% of kids today have ADHD, up from the previously accepted 6%.

The headlines sounded worrisome.

ABC NEWS: ADHD rates in kids have increased over the past 20 years, new study says

CNN: 10% of  US children diagnosed with ADHD, study finds

Fox News: ADHD diagnoses may be rising in US

TIME: One in 10 U.S. Kids Has Been Diagnosed with ADHD    

No need to panic. In the actual text, all of the reports immediately downplayed the new rate with a whole host of reasons that disprove any real increase. Most of them were right out of the THERE AREN’T REALLY MORE KIDS WITH AUTISM playbook that officials have used for years. And it always helps to have folks with lots of credentials from big name institutions to back up the claims.

ABC News:  (The old “expanded spectrum” explanation.)

The way the disorder is evaluated likely plays a part.

"The diagnosis and assessment for ADHD has evolved over the past few decades. The diagnostic criteria that we use is now a little more liberal and captures cases that the older criteria would have left out," said Dr. Neha Chaudhary, a child psychiatrist at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Stanford Brainstorm, in an interview with ABC news.

by Anne Dachel

One of my favorite historians is Thomas Cahill who’s written all kinds of books on European history, including Jewish history and Irish history. It’s very insightful and revealing writing. 

One book covering the 20^th century had a couple of lines that stood out to me. They were on the rise of Fascism in Europe in the 1920s and 30s, which eventually led to the tyranny of Nazism and the savagery of World War II.  

"To us, reading history backward, the rise of Fascism in Europe has all the goosestepping inevitability of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will. But through the twenties and thirties many Europeans refused to acknowledge the direction in which events were heading." 

This is what all the stories I’m collecting seem like to me. We will eventually pay a huge price for the decline in the health and behavior of our children that we see happening everywhere. Coming up with all kinds of programs and innovations while pretending nothing is really wrong can’t prevent the inevitable. 

How will we accommodate today’s children when they reach adulthood? All the issues in these stories will still be here. Mental health and behavior problems are the most critical topics to educators today. Adding more security, guidance counselors, psychologists, sensory rooms, and therapy dogs won’t change things at all.

Looking over the past week I picked out ten stories from Loss of Brain Trust that really prove my point about what’s happening in schools.

(New Zealand) "A growing number of young people...[suffer] from some form of mental illness"

Aug 17, 2018, Stuff: The rise and rise of mental illness among our young 

In the 15 to 25 age group presentations increased from 209 to 330 in the same time period. And there was a 154 per cent increase in people from that age group calling the Mental Health Crisis team, now called the Assessment and Brief Care team (ABC), for help - up from 854 in 2013 to 2168 in 2017. 

In Taranaki the number of people in the 10 to 14 age group being prescribed anti depressants went up from 240 in 2013 to 417 in 2017, and from 1063 to 1944 in the 15 to 19 age group. 

Nationally, 10,146 children in the 10 to 14 age group were prescribed antidepressants in 2017 and 56,700 in the older age group. And 1788 children under the age of nine were also prescribed anti depressants.

And of course parents are receiving the blame for the way they raise their kids.

By Anne Dachel

On August 4^th the New York Times published an opinion piece entitled, Anti-Vaccine Activists Have Taken Vaccine Science Hostage.

In that article, science and health writer Melinda Wenner Moyer sounded worried about the increasing number of parents who don’t vaccinate their kids. Moyer is sure these parents have nothing to worry about, but “what drives these wrongheaded decisions is fear — fear that vaccines are somehow dangerous, even though research shows the opposite.”

Despite her belief that no one needs to question the ever-expanding vaccine schedule, Moyer did talk about “hitting a wall” when she tried to discuss vaccine efficacy and safety with researchers. “When I did get them on the phone, a worrying theme emerged: Scientists are so terrified of the public’s vaccine hesitancy that they are censoring themselves, playing down undesirable findings and perhaps even avoiding undertaking studies that could show unwanted effects.”

“The goal is to protect vaccines”

Moyer made it sound as though pressure from “anti-vaccine activists” makes it impossible for scientists to openly talk about possible problems with a vaccine. She cited vaccine developer Dr. Paul Offit who feels that “worrying studies” shouldn’t be published.

It seems that public faith in vaccines is so precarious that EVEN TALKING about side effects scares people away from vaccinating. AND the anti-vaccine community is to blame for this situation. They will go after anything that raises questions about vaccine safety.

Moyer concluded:

There’s no question that bad vaccine science does not deserve a forum — and much of the research cited by anti-vaccine activists is very bad indeed. But good science needs to be heard even if some people will twist its meaning. One thing vaccine scientists and vaccine-wary parents have in common is a desire for the safest and most effective vaccines possible — but vaccines can’t be refined if researchers ignore inconvenient data. Moreover, vaccine scientists will earn a lot more public trust, and overcome a lot more unfounded fear, if they choose transparency over censorship.

So is vaccine research really open and honest? Can any legitimate concerns be raised?

I contacted Dr. Chris Shaw, Canadian neuroscientist and professor of ophthalmology at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Shaw’s research on the use of aluminum vaccine adjuvants had been retracted from the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry in 2017. 

(In 2012 I interviewed him about his research.)

Here’s what Dr. Shaw had to say about the NY Times story.

Dr. Shaw, what is your opinion of the Times piece? Are “anti-vaccine activists” to blame for shutting down legitimate debate on vaccines?

I think religion adds a lot to human affairs, in many cases, but also goes to extremism.

I was in Mosul as a medic in 2017. We were there to support the civilians coming out of Mosul, and support the military forces that were taking the city back from ISIS.

ISIS is an example of taking religion to an extreme. If you were not one hundred percent what they believe, you were an apostate and you had to be killed….

WHAT YOU SEE IN THIS ARTICLE—you can see the author is struggling really hard to make it come out a certain way—everything in this article points to the fact that the scientists who are honestly trying to do their jobs and find whatever there is to find, whether it’s good or whether it’s bad, or ambiguous, they are being penalized for being honest scientists—even by their own.

In some people’s eyes, they have crossed a path, they’re going against the creed of the religion. And Paul Offit typifies it perfectly.

Everything has to be one hundred percent pro. It cannot be ninety-nine percent pro, that’s not good enough. Papers should never be published if they’re critical, …they might scare the people, the ignorant unwashed masses who won’t get their vaccines.

Offit, as you know, he typifies what I think you’d call MEDICAL FASCISM.

By Anne Dachel

Week update: July 28 to Aug 4

While no one in the national media and no one in the federal government have taken any interest, our schools continue to decline. Here’s a sample from the past week from my big collection on LossofBrainTrust.com . 

I look for stories on INCREASES in numbers and cost. This is proof that the situation isn’t stable, it’s only getting worse. STILL, there are no calls for answers. No alarms. New schools for special needs kids are described with words like ‘exciting’ and ‘fantastic.’

My friend Louis Conte called the situation “a slow moving catastrophe.”  I have over 2,700 articles gathered over the last year and a half, and they’re all frightening. I feel like it is a ticking time bomb, as one piece described it. Eventually schools will be unable to accommodate all the kids with learning disorders, behavior problems and mental health issues, and still educate kids. It’s that simple.

We’re being told that schools in Massachusetts spend 20—30% of their budgets on SPED, Prescott, AZ reports, “The special education student population has outpaced overall student growth,” in  Bridgwater, England they’re spending $24M (US dollars) for a SPED school for 160 students, and in Belfast the school budget is overspending by $25M (US dollars) because of special education costs. So when things finally just collapse, no one will be able to say that we weren’t told it was happening. It’s out there every single day. No one cares.

July 28, 2018, (UK) Isle of Wight County Press: Isle of Wight school dog Poppy receives top award

STUDENTS aren't the only ones achieving at St George’s School.

School dog Poppy — who has been supporting students at the special school for three years, helping to boost their self esteem, reduce anxiety and comfort them when they are upset — has been awarded 'Pets as Therapy' status….

July 28, 2018, Las Vegas Review Journal: 2 new psychologists to provide autism diagnosis in Las Vegas

Clinical neuropsychologists Erin Honke and Caitlin Cook will provide diagnostic services for families needing initial and follow-up evaluations for their autistic children at, respectively, Touro University Nevada’s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities and UNLV’s Ackerman Autism Center.

Both say they look forward to being a part of the solution to long wait times for families desperate for early intervention. …

 “It’s also crazy to see how many families have gone without and are waiting to be seen, and that’s certainly something I’m excited to be a part of.” …

There are 3,200 children waiting for help from the UNLV Ackerman Autism Center alone. …

July 29, 2018, (UK) Somerset Live: Here's what Bridgwater new £18M [$24M US] specialist school may look like 

Bridgwater residents have been given their first tentative glimpse of what their town's new £18M [$24M US dollars] specialist school may look like.

Somerset County Council announced its intention in May to build a new 160-place special school on Bower Lane Somerset County Council, not far from the community hospital….

Elmwood school, meanwhile, will be converted to provide more capacity at Robert Blake school.

This project is part of the council's strategy to ensure pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can be educated closer to home. …

By Anne Dachel

School districts are working on their budgets, and they have to deal with some huge money issues. First of all, security is foremost in the minds of the people running our education system.  They have to be proactive, doing everything possible to prevent another tragedy like the Parkland from happening in their schools.

Teachers are being trained to recognize possible perpetrators among their students. News reports tell us about districts screening students for mental health issues, hiring more social workers, counselors, psychologists, and partnering with local mental health agencies.

It’s abundantly clear that sending your child to school today involves a risk. Teachers face the real threat of violence from their students. The media off-handedly tells us that one in every 5 kids has a mental illness.  (No explanation given. It’s just the way it is.) Teachers need to worry every time they walk into a classroom.  They better be prepared for the worst.

So while districts spend millions on security and hiring more staff to make schools safer, the special education numbers keep on growing and that means higher costs too.

Here’s a sample of what’s happening from my site, Loss of Brain Trust—Childhood Lost over the past week.

July 22, 2018, North Andover (MA) Eagle Tribune:  Surging costs prompt new approach to school funding

… Last week, the House approved spending $500 million over the next five years to help districts better cover the costs of special education and employee health care. At the same time, lawmakers opted to study the issue of helping English language learners and poorer students.

Special education costs contributed to a nearly $4 million school budget deficit in Methuen last year….

In fiscal 2018, the district covered costs for 136 special needs students in residential, private day or collaborative programs -- about 25 more students than during the prior year.

July 22, 2018, Carroll County (MD) Times: Editorial: Getting to root of behavioral issues in elementary school students 

For the past few years, Carroll County Public Schools has asked for additional funding in its budget to repurpose several teaching positions to behavioral specialists. But despite the county’s overall funding for public schools increasing, shortfalls in meeting the Board of Education’s total funding request have left those positions from becoming a reality.

By Anne Dachel

Over the last 18 months I’ve posted hundreds of disturbing news reports about mental illness and young people on my site LossofBrainTrust.com , but this one from NBC News is especially chilling.  I had to give it individual attention. It’s about children in desperate need of emergency psychiatric help, with nowhere to turn. The NBC News people, including anchor Lester Holt, show concern, they call for better insurance coverage, more accommodations, BUT in the end, they willing accept the two terrifying statistics they give us:

“A 40 percent increase in [pediatric] psychiatric visits to emergency rooms,” and the graphic displayed behind Holt in the newsroom, “1 in 5 kids at risk.”

Where did these incredible numbers come from? Over how long a period did ER psych visits increase 40 percent?

Notice that boy in the report has non-verbal autism along with disruptive mood disregulation disorder. Could there be link? How many other behavioral disorders are concomitant with autism? 

(Actually disruptive mood disregulation disorder is a relatively new condition, having been added to the DSM in 2013.)  

June 29, 2018, NBC News: Shortage of in-patient psychiatric beds puts kids at risk as more seek care 

With a 40 percent increase in psychiatric visits to emergency rooms, many families are struggling to find help

Video:

… “My brother can’t actually speak. He has that kind of autism.”

“Twelve-year-old Jake has a sweet disposition, but also suffers from disruptive mood disregulation disorder, which can result in terrifying, violent outbursts.

“The episode [was] so frightening that Don and Suzanne made the girls go to their rooms and lock their doors. Finally things got so bad that Don called the police.” …

By Anne Dachel

Thanks to my friend Wayne Rohde, I now have a site where all the stories I’ve collected on the decline of kids' ability to learn and their behavior over the last year and a half are filed, totaling almost 2,500. I call it Loss of Brain Trust: Childhood Lost,  because kids today bear no resemblance to young people from past generations.

We're all numb to the fact that the media consistently throws out shocking statistics without even a hint of alarm or even concern:

“Northern Ireland is experiencing an ‘autism wave’ with one in 34 school-age children being diagnosed with the condition - and an expert says that services are now ‘at breaking point.’”

“24 percent of students on Staten Island are special needs.”

"One out of every 34 children in New Jersey [one out of every 22 boys] is affected by autism, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”

“Raleigh [NC] schools also dealt with a 75 percent increase in student chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and food allergies from 2002-2015.”

“It's a sad fact that one in seven children have asthma in New Zealand and therefore we are really focussing on helping to support and educate children in school.”

By Anne Dachel

The phony science never ends.  

I just finished a piece about a new study blaming social media for kids with falling IQ scores all over the world. CNN covered it.

It seems that when anyone in the scientific/medical community uses the term environmental cause today, it really something social, not some toxic exposure like cigarettes causing lung cancer.

The IQ findings go hand-in-hand with another official explanation for all the kids with chronic illnesses, behavioral/mental health problems, learning problems. There the blame is place on adverse childhood experiences, otherwise known as toxic stress/childhood trauma. It’s all the bad stuff happening to kids at home.

In case anyone is still looking for answers, here’s the newest “environmental” reason for kids today being so different from children in the past: it is the “overcontrolling parent” at fault for all those with emotional problems.  Not only that, but these ‘helicopter’ parenting “seems to be increasingly prevalent.”

June 18, 2018, WebMD: How 'helicopter' Parenting Impedes a Child's Development

Overcontrolling moms and dads -- so-called "helicopter" parents -- can stunt their children's emotional development, new research warns.

Directing every move a toddler makes may undermine a child's ability to manage their emotions and behavior on their own, explained Nicole Perry, lead author of a new study.

"We found that overcontrolling parenting at age 2 was associated with poorer emotional and behavioral regulation at age 5," said Perry, a postdoctoral fellow with the University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development.

At age 10, this parenting approach also was tied to more child-reported emotional and school problems, fewer teacher-reported social skills, and less teacher-reported academic productivity, she added.

Our Anne Dachel is creating a compendium of the changes in schools around the world as children grow sicker and less able to learn in traditional settings. Special education is exploding, school budgets crumbling and teachers and students alike are suffering. How long can this go on before we see actual collapses in programs? Or before parents of typical kid (both of them, ha ha) tell the special education programs to stuff it? Below are 15 stories from just last week. I especially like that one with the headline that an Ohio Autism School CELEBRATES its 20th year. Yes! Celebrate!! You'll be here foreverrrrrrr!!!!!!!  K

June 1, 2018, UK (N.I.) Derry Journal: Almost 600 waiting for Autism assessment

Almost 600 children and adults are waiting to be assessed for Autism locally, with health officials warning resources cannot meet the soaring demand. …

 The Western Trust has confirmed that the numbers referred for assessment and intervention has risen dramatically. And this has now prompted Trust representatives to relay concerns to both the Health and Social Care Board and Department of Health.

At present there are 493 children and 81 adults across Derry, Limavady, Strabane and the wider western region, waiting to begin assessment to detect if they are on the Autism spectrum.

A further 394 children and 55 adults are currently undergoing the assessment process within the Trust.

The figures were obtained by the ‘Journal’ after a recent report revealed that the number of school age children - 993 - who have come through the assessment process and been diagnosed with Autism and Asperger Syndrome in the west, has increased by almost 50 per cent over the last five years, despite intake numbers remaining static.

Commenting on the waiting lists, a spokesperson for the Western Trust said: “The demand for Autism assessment and intervention for both children and adults within the Western Trust has increased significantly and this trend continues.

Current resource does not meet the level of demand within the Trust and this has been highlighted to the HSCB and DoH.”

 The recent Department of Health report entitled, ‘The Prevalence of Autism (including Asperger Syndrome) in School Age Children’ - found that the increase in children identified with Autism was 31 per cent higher in the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland - several of which are in Derry.  …

***June 1, 2018, UK GetWestLondon: Parents endure up to five year wait for autism diagnosis nationwide according to Hillingdon Manor School founder

Parents are complaining of waiting as long as five years for an autism diagnosis for their child, and are grappling with a "postcode lottery", according to the advocate mum behind Hillingdon Manor School .

The concerns were revived after Westminster's local authorities published its waiting lists on May 24, finding families in the central London borough were waiting as long as a year for diagnosis, despite waiting time guidelines of three months.

A North West London Collaboration of Clinical Commission (NWLCCC) Groups spokeswoman said while the waiting times were "longer than we would like," it was lower than the average national waiting time average estimated by a parent-reported survey at 3.6 years. …

By Anne Dachel

On May 15, 2018, Northern Ireland’s Derry Journal ran the story, Autism diagnosis rise among local schoolkids

The numbers were shocking and so was the attitude of the reporter. While the school population hasn’t increased, the autism numbers continue to soar.

The number of school age children diagnosed with Autism and Asperger Syndrome in the Western Trust area has increased by almost 50 per cent over the last five years.

It has now emerged that around two in every 100 local children are on the Autism spectrum.

The figures are contained new Department of Health report entitled, ‘The Prevalence of Autism (including Asperger Syndrome) in School Age Children’, and do not include the number of children currently being assessed. …

Incredibly, more and more disabled children are not a cause for alarm. The jump in the rate was attributed to “increased awareness,” according to the Dept. of Health which provided the numbers.

The introduction of the Autism Act (NI) 2011 and increased awareness may well have led to a rise the number of assessments and positive diagnoses, its authors state.

The only action called for was more services.

They also add that the “need to develop and improve health and social care services for people of all ages who are affected by autism (including Asperger Syndrome) has been apparent for some time.”

NEW REPORT: THINGS ARE WORSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

May 18, 2018, Belfast Telegraph: 70% rise in autism among school-age children putting services at 'breaking point'

Northern Ireland is experiencing an "autism wave" with one in 34 school-age children being diagnosed with the condition - and an expert says that services are now "at breaking point".

Research by the Department of Health shows that 8,442 school-age children were diagnosed with autism in 2017/18, with the prevalence of the condition increasing by 69% over the past five years.

In total, 2.9% of schoolchildren here have autism, with children living in urban areas 1.5 times more likely to have the developmental disability.

The Belfast Trust has the highest diagnosis of autism and the autism rate in Northern Ireland's most deprived group was 31% higher than the countrywide average.

Autism NI CEO Kerry Boyd said that a report commissioned by the Department of Education had warned of an "autism wave" in 2002.

She said: "The pressure on autism services is now at breaking point.

"In some trust areas, parents are still waiting up to two years on an assessment and support services are few and far between.

"Therefore, it is often left to the voluntary sector to fill this void, but due to the level of demand on Autism NI's services, we are already stretched to full capacity.…

A Department of Health spokeswoman said that they were continuing to see an increase in demand for autism services….

A spokesperson for the Education Authority (EA) said it continued to invest in its Autism Advisory and Intervention Service.

"Whilst it has seen a rise in the number of children being diagnosed with autism in some areas, EA continues to provide advice and support to schools and parents alongside a training programme.

"Pupil interventions and early intervention remain a key aspect of the work of the regional team."

No number seems too horrific for experts anywhere. Better diagnosing is still the official mantra used to dissuade people from thinking that something is really wrong with kids today.

The really scary thing here is that the rate of one in 34 in Northern Ireland is the exact same rate that researchers recently found in New Jersey.

What if this is now the real rate? What if Belfast and New Jersey are doing the best job of better diagnosing?

Shouldn't health officials and lawmakers want to address this before things reach the point of no return?

Add to the autism rate, the oft-repeated finding that one in 5 children today is mentally ill,   and you have a lot of reasons to worry if we have any future at all.

Footnote:

In a May 17th story in Northern Ireland Newry, readers learned that "currently 24% of enrolled learners" at a local high school are considered special education students.

Anne Dachel is Media Editor of Age of Autism.

By Anne Dachel

On May 17, CBS5 in Scottsdale, AZ aired the story, Family of autistic student alleges assault, cover-up during use of restraints at school 

For parents of children disabled with autism, there are lots of worries, especially when they go off to school. (I say this as the mom of a 31 year old son who spent a lot of 3^rd grade sitting UNDER his desk.)

Behavior that stems from anxiety and fear can have serious results in school, as this CBS5 story shows.

Sean McCarthy is NON-VERBAL (like an estimated 25% of the autism community), and his family noticed a change in his behavior. They linked it to what was happening to him at school in Scottsdale, and it resulted in a lawsuit.

“In newly filed state and federal lawsuits, the McCarthys allege untrained school staff repeatedly restrained their son - physically grabbed and held him - without informing the family as required by a 2015 law.

“The lawsuits also claim district administrators failed to turn over key records and school employees took steps to cover up their actions.”

This went on for two years:

Sean’s parents claim that what happened to their son was assault.

“The family’s federal lawsuit, which was filed this month, claims the restraints were unlawful and amounted to assaults. The lawsuit seeks punitive damages.

“Scottsdale Unified declined to comment on the case because it involves pending litigation, but in court documents, the district denied the family’s allegations and maintained the restraints were legal. The district said the restraints were used to protect students or staff from Sean ‘biting, hitting, kicking, flailing and punching.’

Schools in Arizona have had the legal right to use restraint and seclusion since 2015— when ‘behavior presents an imminent danger of bodily harm to [themselves] or others.’

By Anne Dachel

Last week the World Mercury Project reported on the special education epidemic happening around the world in Part 4 of their series.

https://worldmercuryproject.org/.../part-4-the-special-ed-epidemic-uncovering-the-ans...

“In this four-part series, World Mercury Project's partner, Focus for Health (FFH), examined the special education epidemic, its crippling effects ...”

The WMP’s evidence that increasingly students in our schools today can’t learn or behave as children always have should be cause for follow-up by the national press, one would think, but sadly it’s probably not going to happen. In fact, they’ll do just the opposite.

Sunday, May 13^th the Washington Post addressed this critical topic. The headline said it all: Veteran policymaker says 80 percent of special-ed kids don’t need that label

The Post, like every other mainstream news source out there, has never addressed the explosion in special needs students as a crisis. The truth is, it’s been completely ignored. Staten Island may have 24 percent of its students in special education, 22 percent in Racine, WI, 20 percent in Wahkiakum, WA, but still, it’s no cause for concern.

However, when an impressive group like the World Mercury Project, led by well-known environmentalist Robert Kennedy, Jr., calls what’s happening in special ed an epidemic, it’s  definitely going to draw more attention to the topic. The public might ask where the big name sources in print and broadcast news have been. Why have they said absolutely nothing about this?

The truth is, just like with the horrific increases in autism over the last two decades, the job of the media seems to be to first ignore the situation, and when finally forced to talk about it, deny anything is wrong.

This is exactly what the Post did in their story. The author of the piece, Jay Mathews, is the education columnist for the Post where he’s been working for nearly 50 years. Mathews interviewed Kalman R. “Buzzy” Hettleman who served two terms on the Baltimore school board and was deputy mayor of Baltimore and Maryland secretary of human resources. Surely these two people should be able to tell us what’s going on.

By Anne Dachel

A story from New Jersey this week is proof, once again, that experts who actually admit something is wrong—that the unending autism rate increase might be a real increase, will never demand we stop it from getting worse.

Tracy Kettering PhD BCBA-D wrote the piece in the New Jersey Courier Post on May 9^th entitled, New autism rates surprising? Not to us.  

The numbers don't surprise her

Kettering has a doctoral degree in special education and behavior analysis from Ohio State University, and she is the Director of the Applied Behavior Analysis Center of Excellence at Bancroft. She’s an expert on autism and she's not bothered by yet another increase in the autism rate nationally or at home in New Jersey, where it's now ONE IN EVERY 34 CHILDREN, ONE IN EVERY 22 BOYS.

While Kettering did attribute the new rate to “diagnostic improvements,” she hinted that there might be something else going on.

“And let’s be honest: With all the remarkable research being conducted throughout the country, we still don’t know what causes autism, and it’s possible there also could be a true increase in prevalence of autism – not just better diagnostics.”

Kettering talked at length about the need to provide services and early diagnosing.  Other states have to “be prepared for these increases”…because things are only going to get worse.

 “What we do know is that autism cases continue to grow – and have continued that upward trend for decades. “

“It also means demand will be greater than ever for well-trained, highly educated, caring clinical staff, special educators and direct-support staff who provide the critical day-to-day support to support the children and adults served.”

My questions for all the experts like Kettering who acknowledge that THE INCREASE MIGHT BE REAL are these: When will the numbers be alarming? How bad do things have to get?

Although Kettering sounded satisfied that experts are hard at work on autism, I have to ask, what has the “remarkable research” on autism actually gained for us? ASD is still a complete mystery to every health official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, no one at the CDC would ever concur with her that “there could be a true increase.” Each and every new rate announcement, including the latest one, has come with the caveat that there is no evidence that more children actually have autism. The new numbers were attributed to an increase in recognizing autism in black and Hispanic children.

My final question for Kettering is specifically this: What will you be saying when the rate in New Jersey is one in every 10 children? No one is saying that it's not coming. 

Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.

SPECIAL ED PERCENTAGE

National official average is 13 percent.

Hazelton, PA: 15 percent of students are sped.

Sioux Falls, SD: 15 percent of students are sped.

Worthington, MN: 15 percent of the students are sped.

By Anne Dachel

Mark [Blaxill] stated ‘You can’t make America great with all these sick children and more coming’. Trump shook his head and agreed.”

Andrew Wakefield: [Talking about his conversation with Donald Trump] "We went on to discuss the issue of the autism crisis in this country which is set to affect one in two children by 2032 according to the CDC's own data if nothing is done, if nothing changes. That's 80 percent of the boys in this country. There is a national crisis.”

Andrew Buncombe reports for the British newspaper, The Independent, and he is out to discredit Andrew Wakefield because Wakefield has refused to back down from his claim of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism and bowel disease in children.

Buncombe isn’t interested in Wakefield’s research. I’m sure he’s never bothered to read Callous Disregard,   the book in which Wakefield explained how he became involved in the most heated issue in pediatric medicine and what he learned about the MMR vaccine.

Buncombe’s real interest is discrediting ANYONE who dares to question the ever-expanding, unchecked vaccine schedule. He couldn’t care less about what autism is doing to millions of children around the world, in fact, autism is barely mentioned in his reporting. 

(On a personal note, having spent a summer in the hospital in Rugby, England after a car accident, I am aware that a surgeon in Britain is addressed as “Mr.” Dr. Wakefield in these stories is referred to as “Mr. Wakefield,” but I suspect that it’s done more to discredit him than to acknowledge his prominence as a surgeon in gastroenterology. No one in the media is interested in his findings as a GI doctor.)

Here are some of Buncombe’s latest reports. Judge for yourself what his real agenda is.

May 6, 2018, UK Independent: How a Muslim community overcame disinformation linking vaccines to autism

…When health officials in Minnesota were confronted by the biggest outbreak of measles in decades, they knew that earning the community’s trust would be crucial.

The section of the community most affected by the outbreak that eventually infected 79 people, the same as for the whole of the US in any average year, were Somali Americans. The vast majority were children under 10 who had not been vaccinated.

The state’s Somali Americans used to vaccinate their children more than other Minnesotans, but the rate fell, between 2004 and 2014, from 92 per cent to 40 per cent. Officials have linked this to visits paid to the community by anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield and other campaigners, whose influence still reverberates.….

“I think that before Andrew visited the Two Cities, Somali parents vaccinated their kids at around 90 per cent. But right now it’s 40, and that shows the fear’s impact and because of that you see a measles outbreak in the state of Minnesota.”

May 5, 2018, UK Independent: Trump claims vaccines and autism are linked but his own experts vehemently disagree

By Anne Dachel

One of my favorite quotes about the media is this one from the movie, Argo: “If you want to sell a lie, get the press to sell it for you.”

This is exactly what’s happened.

There have been decades of decline in the health of children—developmentally, behaviorally, physically—and the press has reported on it all. It’s been endless, even tedious. We’ve been fed a steady diet of autism increases that should have stopped us all dead in our tracks, but officials have never been sure if higher rates mean more kids have autism. Autism has merely been a “concern” to the guardians of our health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  There is no need for worry, and that’s how the press spins it.

But it’s clearly more than just autism happening to more and more kids. Mental health is now a major focus of schools everywhere. Social—emotional learning is right up there with math and reading. Keeping kids calm is as important as final exams. The special needs student today is more likely to have behavioral problems than just learning difficulties.

Add to that the stunning numbers of kids with chronic health problems that schools are forced to deal with--asthma, allergies, seizures, diabetes, bowel disease. In-school clinics are becoming standard in lots of places because the need is there.

So why is this happening? Why are children today so unwell? No one is really sure, and no one really wants to find out. Awareness, acceptance, and accommodation are the only things we really care about. I know this for a fact because I’ve been following these stories specifically for a year and half and NO ONE EVER DEMANDS THAT WE FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON.

NOTE: Maybe Bruce Springsteen will write a song about the boys with autism who can't find work in the closed factories... and who might never have their hearts broken by a Jersey girl. Born in the USA has become frightening as more families are learning their child has a diagnosis. We are in an emergency situation.

U.S. autism rate now one in every 59 eight year olds in America. In New Jersey, it's one in every 34 children, one in every 22 boys.

By Anne Dachel

The numbers are from 2014. Dare we suspect that they are even worse today? Is anyone alarmed because the New Jersey rate is so much higher than the national average?  What if the Garden State has the most accurate count of kids? 

The go-to guy on autism in New Jersey is Dr. Walter Zahorodny. His remarks in the press on the horrific rate in New Jersey are incomprehensible. 

Six years ago he admitted the possibility of a connection between vaccines and autism.

I wrote this for Age of Autism:

Walter Zahorodny, an associate professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, directed the autism study. (Photo: Photo courtesy of Nick Romanenko)

Finally, there's Dr. Walter Zahorodny, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark and he was the lead researcher on the New Jersey portion of a CDC rate study.  He was interviewed for Philly.com in March, 2014 about the update in the autism rate to one in every 68 children.  Zahorodny said, 'It's a true increase. It's a change of great magnitude. It's silly to go on debating that.'  Furthermore, he said the numbers are going to get even worse.

Back in April, 2012, Zahorodny was featured on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC radio.

During the interview, the host brought up research on the possible causes for autism and he made this comment: "I guess we know what they aren't, for instance, childhood vaccines, right?”

This was Zahorodny's stunning response: "Vaccines don't play a significant role in autism increasing. Some small number of children probably do have autism because of an adverse vaccine reaction, but they don't make for the overall rise. Similarly, thimerosal, the additive in vaccines which was almost entirely out of the picture by 2000, which was when our children in the '08 study were born. So these kids, which would have seen declining autism prevalence if thimerosal was an important risk factor, not increasing prevalence. So I rule those two things out. There are other factors that would be more likely at play-demographical factors related to parents' age and other factors linked to that."

So a "small number of children" have autism because of their vaccines.  Shouldn't we all be concerned? 

While Zahorondny's claim that thimerosal was removed by 2000 is clearly wrong, his admission that yes, some kids really do become autistic after vaccinations, was alarming.

So how much of the rate increase is because of the vaccines children receive?

So now it’s 2018 and the numbers have once again taken a jump leap forward.

 Since NJ has the highest rate in the country, Zahorodny is being quoted in national coverage. He makes it clear that it isn’t just BETTER DIAGNOSING. The numbers show no sign of slowing down. He finds that worrisome...

By Anne Dachel

How fitting that the people who run the ever-expanding vaccine schedule (the one rife with charges of fraud, collusion and cover-up) also get to keep track of the autism numbers.

The rate is up again, but there’s no need to worry. It’s just more of the “better diagnosing” that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been famous for, for the last twenty years.

Notice the piece below by Ari Ne’eman in which he is adamant: THERE IS NO EPIDEMIC. It’s all just better recognition of a disorder that’s always affected a significant number of people.

The only malfeasance here is society’s failure to something about all the autism plaguing adults. We’ve ignored them for far too long. It’s time to right that wrong and find the undiagnosed/misdiagnosed in the adult population, according to Ne’eman.

Good luck with that. They tried it in Britain in 2011. Using survey questions, researchers surmised that autism affects adults at the same rate as children. Finding middle aged adults who would rather stay home and read a book than go to a party was supposed to be equivalent to masses of hand—flapping, head—banging, non—verbal six-year-olds.

April 28, 2018, Vox: The CDC just announced 1 in 59 children are autistic. Here’s why that’s not evidence of an epidemic. By Ari Ne'eman

Especially within minority groups, parents and doctors are getting better at identifying the condition.

The Centers for Disease Control this week released the latest autism prevalence numbers, which suggest that approximately 1 in 59 children are autistic. …

There is no autism epidemic, however. The numbers are likely changing due to improved diagnosis and services, more inclusive diagnostic criteria and reduced stigma rather than a change in the actual number of autistic people. …

By Anne Dachel

Here is yet another look at the fall of education in America (and everywhere else in the English speaking world).

Months and months of stories have shown what should be obvious to all: our schools are noticeably different from what they were fifteen and twenty years ago, and certainly a world away from schools thirty and forty years ago.

What is undeniable is the fact that schools have to provide for more and more students who can’t learn or behave normally, and the demands for accommodations keep increasing.

So why isn’t this a critical issue?

How can “experts” make absurd claims that dismiss what’s happening and they’re never challenged?

Why is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed to produce the science that supposedly shows the explosion in social/emotional/behavioral problems is due to an increased number of parents abusing their own children and inflicting “adverse childhood experiences” on them?

Why are we just supposed to accept the claim that one in every five children now has a mental illness?

Why has there been a coincidental increase in students with a whole host of chronic health conditions?

Why doesn’t Education Secretary Betsy DeVos say anything about the increase in special education students, the millions being spent to address mental health issues in school districts, and why teachers still have to be trained to teach kids with challenging behavior?

Since January 2017 I’ve been gathering stories about kids in schools. Here is what I’ve put out on Age of Autism. They’re just a sample from a whole lot more, well over 3,000 in my files. Stories are never about declining numbers or situations getting better. I can’t imagine what I’ll find a year from now.
 

April 18, 2018, Tell a lie enough times, and it becomes the truth…ESPECIALLY IF PEOPLE WANT TO BELIEVE IT! http://www.ageofautism.com/2018/04/tell-a-lie-enough-times-and-it-becomes-the-truthespecially-if-people-want-to-believe-it.html

April 12, 2018, Nothing To See Here http://www.ageofautism.com/2018/04/nothing-to-see-here.html

March 27, 2018, ABCs Are Becoming IEPs in Education as Mental Health Issues Beset Districts http://www.ageofautism.com/2018/03/abcs-are-becoming-ieps-in-education-as-mental-health-issues-beset-districts.html

March 22, 2018, Schools Becoming the New Mental Health Institutions  http://www.ageofautism.com/2018/03/schools-becoming-the-new-mental-health-institutions.html

By Anne Dachel

During the last decades ago, as autism became an ever—increasing diagnosis, taking giant steps in the rate every two years or so, people wanted to know where it was coming from. Experts didn’t have a clue, but they did have guesses and lots of dead—end studies to support them. The two most often cited were BETTER DIAGNOSING, and GENETICS, although either one made any sense.

First of all, IF all the children with autism were nothing new, then we should have been able to find comparable rates among all ages of adults, and no one has ever done that.

Second, a dramatic change in genetics in a generation or two is simply impossible.

Never mind. The only task for the medical community and health officials was to pretend NOTHING WAS WRONG. The fact that 30 percent of parents reported that their child was normal and then dramatically lost learned skills and regressed into autism was never a concern.

To further muddy the waters, lots of time, money and expertise was spent making meaningless associations between autism and bad parents—especially BAD MOMS (very similar to the old “refrigerator mom” theory): old moms, moms who marry old dads, fat moms, drinking moms, moms on anti-depressants, smoking moms, moms who have babies too close together, moms who have preemies, pregnant moms who don’t get enough vitamin D, and moms who live too close to freeways.

MOST OF ALL, experts were out to kill the claim that vaccines were the cause. Endless dollars went into disproving any link between our ever—expanding vaccine schedule and the development of autism.

And it worked. Today, if a child loses the ability to talk or interact after previously meeting every milestone, resulting in an autism diagnosing—it’s just what happens. It’s all so confusing. It’s why we use a puzzle piece. Autism will remain a mystery.

Simple truth: No official knows anything for sure about autism. We don’t even have new official rate. AND NO MATTER WHAT THE RATE, no one in charge will ever admit that an increase means that more kids have autism.

SO is it one in 36 CHILDREN? http://www.ageofautism.com/2017/12/autism-1-in-36-asd-rate-set-a-new-record-high-in-2016.html

Or is it one in 68 CHILDREN, as unconcerned reporters blithely tell us every day?

Or is it one in 45 CHILDREN, as we were told by officials in 2014?

Or is it one in 38 CHILDREN, as Autism Speaks found in their Korean study in 2011?

IT DOESN’T MATTER. Numbers will NEVER MATTER when it comes to autism. There will ALWAYS be some explanation. There has to be because IF all the kids with autism are a new phenomenon, then we would have to do something. We would have move mountains to STOP IT. No one in authority wants to look at autism like this, so we do nothing.

NOW THE NEWEST EPIDEMIC

By Anne Dachel

Numbers mean nothing. Cost is meaningless. NO MATTER HOW BAD THINGS GET IN SCHOOLS, THERE WILL NEVER BE A REAL PROBLEM. Behavior is out-of-control. Special education is exploding at the seams. Mental health concerns are a more critical topic than academics in our schools. STILL, everything is fine. Experts are working on it. We’ll survive this.

Here are around 70 stories from the last two weeks. They’re from all over—the U.S., Canada, and Britain. They’re about schools adding sensory rooms so kids can calm down and make it through the school day, about more and more schools spending vast sums on mental health services, about schools in Britain so overwhelmed that there aren’t enough places for all the disabled students, and about increasing incidents of out-of-control kids in the elementary schools attacking teachers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has their own study from 1998 to show that the changes in kids’ health and behavior are the result of bad parents who expose them to trauma at home. This is what teachers are being taught everywhere. I’m sure it will work. The press is already reporting on it as dogma. Schools need to take over and counter what parents are doing. Teachers have learned to ask, “What happened to this student” and not, “Why did the student do this?” Every mom and dad whose child has behavior issues should hang their heads in shame.

March 25, 2018, (UK) Maidenhead Advertiser: New Dorney school creates safe learning space for children in care

… The head of a new school for young people in care says it aims to put each child at the centre of everything it does.

Stephen Rodgers is head of education at the Eton Dorney Residential School, which has room to house six young people and 18 day spaces for 10 to 18-year-olds. …

Inside, Natalie showed off the sensory room, which is used if a child is anxious and is a place to reassure them.

“These children can be in the care system for a number of reasons including learning and behavioural difficulties,” said Natalie. “ …

By Anne Dachel

Over the last 15 months I’ve collected around 4,000 stories on the decline of children’s health and behavior and what it’s doing to schools around the world. The February 14^th shooting in Parkland, Florida is just one factor forcing educators to address mental/behavioral health problems. State legislatures are okaying millions of dollars to address mental health in schools, and districts are adding more experts to help with the social/emotional needs of students.

Educators are struggling and they’re scared of a student population unlike any they’ve had in the past.

Incredibly we’re not seeing any panic over what’s happening. In fact, our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has assured us that THEY KNOW WHY childhood is dramatically different: bad parents are raising children in abusive homes. There is a massive effort to educate teachers about what Adverse Childhood Experiences are doing.  Below is just a sample of what’s out there.

When children can’t learn, pay attention, or behave in school, teachers are told, “Instead of saying what's wrong with you, why can't you just sit still and pay attention? We say: what happened to you?”  

Parents now have a lot to answer for.

Mar 18, 2018, Wakefield, RI, Narragansett Times: Town council, school committee negotiate budget

… Among those identified needs that would be included in a budget with a 2.93 percent PTT are the addition of a family community engagement (FCE) teacher, a SKHS career pathway/ internship teacher, a social emotional learning (SEL) teacher and a teacher assistant (TA) with a chauffeur license who could help transport families to IEP and 504 meetings.

School committee member Kate Macinanti pointed out that each of those positions would benefit students’ mental health. 

Note: Here are some of Anne's collected media stories about the changes in schooling in the First World. We had a 16 year old female make a credible threat in my town on the day of the Walk Out. A boy shot two students this week in what was called by morning cable news "school based domestic violence," and the Austin Bomber turns out to be a white, 23 year old Conservative Christian male.   Hardly out of school.

By Anne Dachel

How come schools all over the world are making dramatic changes in order to address mental health/behavioral problems in children, without anyone asking why?

Lame excuses about BAD PARENTS/BAD HOME LIFE are being talked about without challenge, as if homes in the past nurtured kids and there was nothing like this.

The situation is bad..........the cause is somehow social. Imagine if someone started talking about the ENVIRONMENT. Routine exposure to known neurotoxins isn't  even considered. So let them spend vast sums to hire more experts and address social emotional issues ....all the while things get worse and worse.

HOW long can we blame the parents?  Look at the EXPLOSION IN SPED PART I also attached. IF YOU SCROLL down, it starts at the end of 2016 and continues through the first couple of months of 2017.... I'm now on EXPLOSION IN SPED PART VII. Over and over......thousands of stories over the past year attest to the end of childhood as we've known it. How can this not be a crisis?

Columbus, MS: 9 year old shoots and kills 14 year old sister.  Pediatrician calls this trauma…it has lasting impact on children.

Charlotte, NC: County to add more mental health therapists and social workers

Attleboro, MA: School population declines while there is ‘growth of social and emotional issues and increased special needs.’

By Anne Dachel

We’ve been told for the last twenty-five years that all the kids everywhere with autism were nothing new, that all the features of autism—being nonverbal, stimming, obsessing, having  anxiety and meltdowns, and wandering—are just things that come with the diagnosis. We only needed to be aware and to accept. The dramatic change in the behavior of children, referred to as autism, has never been called “a crisis” by any U.S. health official. EVER.

Suddenly things are different. 

There are now so many children in our schools who simply can’t function like kids have always been expected to function. There are lots of labels and lots of accommodations being made to help these students get through the day at school. Autism has to take a backseat to the big percentages of kids who need special help. We’re told in news stories that research shows one in 5 or even one in 4 students has a mental health problem.  NOW it’s a crisis. We need more money to help these kids.

20 percent? 25 percent?

How is that possible? Is the same true for adults? Does the one in 4/one in 5 rate apply to teachers, doctors, police officers? It’s an incredibly scary world out there.

If this is what’s happening just to our children, why aren’t we doing something to stop it? Why isn’t all this the equivalent of a four alarm fire to school officials and the medical community?

Incredibly, there are two reasons that we’re given for all of this: too much social media and bad parents who traumatize their children.

Just like we learn to accept more and more and more children with autism, mental health issues are now a normal and acceptable part of childhood as well. Here are recent stories that prove my point. Schools have to do something, and they are. They’re hiring more counselors, they’re allying themselves with local mental health facilities, and they’re adding more police presence in schools. Since no one is doing anything to address the root cause of all this, it must mean that they probably expect things will get worse.

Feb 18, 2018, Williamsport (PA) Sun—Gazette: Out and About

Dr. Kathleen Lynne Lane will headline Bloomsburg University’s McDowell Institute Speaker Series on Monday and Tuesday.

Lane, a professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Kansas, will focus the series on the social, emotional and behavioral wellness of children who may experience non-academic barriers to learning such as adverse childhood experiences or trauma.

… Her research delivers valuable information for teachers in pre-kindergarten through high school settings using three-tiered methods to screen for the development of learning and behavioral challenges and respond to existing learning challenges.

Feb 18, 2018, Salisbury (NC) Post: Take a deep breath: Koontz launches resiliency program to help kids cope with stress

NOTE: Instead of closing factories and carnival lights, perhaps Bruce Springsteen will start singing about opening autism schools and sleepless nights.

By Anne Dachel

Wake up, New Jersey! Seriously! When the autism rate finally reaches one in 10 or one in 5, and maybe someone asks WHY, we’ll look back on stories like this one from My Central Jersey and ask why no one ever noticed the numbers continually increasing.

THIS IS HOW HOPELESS IT IS.

This is a feel good story designed to accustom us to more and more disabled children. It’s about spreading joy and helping special needs kids, which sounds good. It also has HORRIFIC AUTISM NUMBERS.

How is it possible to write like this, My Central Jersey? How dare you tell us that New Jersey has such an ever-increasing autism rate, far exceeding the national rate, WITH NO EXPLANATION! So in two more years, when the New Jersey rate is one in 28, will you be reporting that so casually too? Will autism ever matter in New Jersey?

***Mar 3, 2018, My Central Jersey: Somerset Hills YMCA, Rutgers athletes team up to spread joy

On Feb. 24, Somerset Hills YMCA, a branch of Somerset County YMCA, hosted its 13th annual Saturdays in Motion (SIM) Rutgers Day, in which 25 Scarlet Knights volunteered to support children with special needs. …

Today, more than ever, children living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) need services and support. According to the CDC’s 2016 Community Report on Autism, the diagnosis rate of ASD in New Jersey is one in 41, compared with the national rate of one in 68. The New Jersey rate marks an increase of 12 percent from the previous one in 45 statistic released in 2014.
 
As a charitable organization, Somerset County YMCA seeks to provide everyone with the opportunity to learn grow and thrive by providing programs, like SIM, that meet community needs where other services fall short.

Note: My Dad grew up in the height of the depression.  He was in first grade in 1929. His Dad was an immigrant cobbler from Italy. He had nine brothers and sisters - hungry brothers and sisters.  And yet, he and his peers saved the world in World War II. Since Columbine, school shootings have been in relatively well to do districts, by kids whose lives may not have been 'easy,' but who weren't living in shelters wondering where there next meal would come from.  And they had copious medical care... Oh... wait.  Kim

By Anne Dachel

Spreading the latest REALLY BIG LIE about childhood disorders: THE FILM ‘RESILIENCE’

The masterminds of fraud and cover-up, the medical establishment and health officials, have devised the perfect explanation for the decline our children’s health and behavior: ALL THE BAD THINGS PARENTS HAVE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN TO THEM AT HOME. News reports are filled with the newly coined terms, “Adverse Childhood Experiences” (ACEs) and “toxic stress,” and they point accusing fingers at moms and dads everywhere.

Now there’s a supporting documentary called ‘Resilience’ that’s circulating internationally. (Trailer) Educators, parents and medical professionals are urged to view it in order to understand the “new science” on childhood behavior problems. It’s being taken seriously and countless news reports link the explosion in mental health problems in children and behavior issues at school to CHILDHOOD TRAUMA.

Somehow children today have to live in such negative circumstances that their emotional and mental health is alarmingly different from previous generations.  The child in the 21^st century suffers more than children who were raised during the Industrial Revolution, Great Depression, world wars, or de jure segregation in the South.

One of the ACEs they’re talking about is poverty, although no one can dispute that being poor is nothing new in childhood. 

How did children survive these all these experiences in the past and somehow function without all kinds of accommodations?

We are not allowed to ask.
The same people who convinced us that all the autism overwhelming our children is the result of better diagnosing/no real increase are now successfully selling the latest REALLY BIG LIE. Here are examples of how the documentary is being promoted.

Feb 23, 2018, (UK) Orkney Orcadian: Childhood experiences documentary shown in Orkney  Resilience, a groundbreaking documentary on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is available for public screenings in communities throughout Orkney, starting in St Margaret’s Hope next Wednesday evening.

Following a showing of the documentary last May, six Third Sector organisations formed an ACEs collective to look at how this new science can contribute to improving health outcomes and life circumstances for children, families and communities here in Orkney.

Local campaigner Kevin Denvir said: “There is a strong body of evidence emerging that confirms the experience a child has at home with parents is the strongest predictor of future health, happiness and success. Parenting, it transpires, has a bigger bearing on the well-being of our children than the school they go to, the incomes we have, the holidays they go on, the clubs they attend, those extra lessons or even possessions! A child’s emotional intelligence and sense of security is clearly linked to the quality of their relationship with their parents or key caregivers.

“Over 20 years ago a research study of over 17000 mainly middle class Americans, by Vince Felliti and Rob Anda, came up with the phrase Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). …

 “The Orkney ACEs collective bought the public performance licence rights for the film and intend to show it throughout Orkney over the coming months. It is hoped by raising public awareness and understanding of this new science we can better support people who have experienced ACEs and provide more effective help when and where it is needed.” …

Feb 23, 2018, Catholic Herald, Diocese of Superior Herald: Viewing of ‘Resilience’

The Cathedral of Christ the King, Superior, will host a viewing of the film “Resilience” at 6 p.m. Monday, March 5, in Kress Hall. The film is a one-hour documentary that chronicles the birth of a new movement among pediatricians, therapists, educators and communities, who are using cutting-edge brain science to disrupt cycles of violence, addiction and disease.

By Anne Dachel

This Week, Feb 11-17 

We have more shocking stories that testify to what’s happening to our children. Schools are now focused on behavior/trauma/mental health issues. They’re trying to explain all this as the result of bad parenting/social media, but suddenly the concerns of autism parents—sensory issues, social skills, self-harm, anxiety, melt-downs—are the concerns of the parents of the general school population. After the heinous shooting in Florida, how can we continue to turn a blind eye?

Feb 11, 2018, (Israel) Haaretz News: Educational Psychologists in Israel Sound Alarm as Demand Rises Among Students

“Though educational psychologists are responsible both for treating children and advising parents, teachers and principals, most of their time is devoted to advising rather than treating individual children, due to their excess workloads. …”

Feb 11, 2018, (Australia) Victoria, Border Mail: Rutherglen high joins Victorian Doctors in Schools Program

“STUDENTS at Rutherglen High School will be able to access a GP on campus thanks to the Doctors in Schools program. …

“Equally crucial are the kinds of services available – Mr Rogers said research had shown as many as 40 per cent of students across the state had used the program to seek treatment for mental health issues.”

Feb 11, 2018, WDAY—TV, Fargo, ND: South side growth requires new look at Fargo school enrollment

The early childhood special education program, located at Agassiz School and Madison Elementary School, must deal with an increase in children ages 3 through 5 who are diagnosed with special needs.

"That is front and center our most urgent facility need right now," Johnson said.

Feb 11, 2018, Atlanta Black Star: Report: Flint Sees 75 Percent Drop In School Reading Proficiency In Wake of Water Crisis

The city of Flint is in crisis mode yet again, except this time, there’s no water involved — at least not directly.

Just as Gov. Rick Snyder failed to inform thousands of residents they were being poisoned via lead-tainted drinking water, he also failed in his mission to improve the city’s reading proficiency. A Detroit Free Press report found that the city’s third-grade reading proficiency took a nearly three–quarter nosedive, falling from 41.8 percent in 2014 to a measley 10.7 percent in 2017. …

Feb 11, 2018, (UK) The Isle of Thanet News: Children’s Mental Health Week: How one Thanet counsellor uses ‘Sunbeams’ to help youngsters explore feelings

By Anne Dachel

A story from Australia makes it clear that vaccines will maintain the sacred place in medicine with our children as the sacrificial lambs.

Feb 12, 2018, Australia SBS News: I'd choose autism: Labor MP backs vaccines

Labor MP Emma Husar says she'd choose autism over nursing a child with an illness that could have been prevented through vaccination. 

Emma Husar is particularly offended when she hears people link vaccinations and autism.

The federal Labor MP is the mother of an autistic child. She also nursed her comatose sister through meningococcal disease, she told parliament on Monday.

"Let me tell you, I would take the autistic child every day over the one that almost died from an almost now-preventable disease through vaccines," Ms Husar said supporting a government proposal to change No Jab No Pay rules.

Consider what Husar is talking about: EVEN IF there is a link, we should still vaccinate. This is the true believer. This is also someone who is making the choice for those dependent on government welfare money.  This is not informed consent—it’s medical tyranny.

By Anne Dachel

Please notice the statistics on disabilities among children today. They’re stupefying. Ten percent, twenty percent, fifty percent, and still no asks why this is happening. Schools are making dramatic changes to help students who can’t function like we’ve always thought kids could, without questions.

When you read, “It is estimated one in ten young people is living with a diagnosable mental health issue,” any rational person has to ask, WHY? What brought about such a dramatic and sudden change?

There’s no real concern about what’s causing this. Even the British royal family—Prince William, his wife, Catherine, and Prince Harry—are only advocating for awareness and services for mental health issues in children.

I honestly believe some of these high estimates of disabilities—a half of kids, two-thirds—are absurd,  I think it's intended to muddy the water to the point that no one knows what's going on—it's just that things are really bad. 

 We’re being conditioned to more acceptance (after all, we’ve somehow adjusted to two percent of kids with autism). All we need is AWARENESS and SERVICES—just like with autism, and everything will be fine. IF there were something seriously wrong, SOMEONE SOMEWHERE would be telling us. Officials would be concerned. Legislators would be calling for answers. BUT that’s not happening, so everything’s just fine.

Or is it?

(And notice that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is right there, promoting the idea that all the emotional/behavioral problems at school, COME FROM HOME: trauma, adverse childhood experiences, toxic stress.)

We can blame outside forces, namely parents/bad home environment, and especially moms who drank while pregnant, along with social media.

Feb 4, 2018, (UK) Sunday Express: School, and not social media, is 'by far the biggest concern' for stressed children

TWO-thirds of children are stressed about life at secondary school while only a tenth are worried about social media. A survey has also discovered that a third of pupils are unhappy at home with a quarter concerned about their weight.

It is also disturbing that increasing numbers of children at nursery and primary school level are being treated at hospital for self-harming. …

By Anne Dachel

This past week, in the midst of my search for the latest story on the explosion in special education in countries around the world, I found this stunning piece from the New York Times on February 6^th. The title said it all, Far More U.S. Children than Previously Thought May Have Fetal Alcohol Disorders.  

Before I get into the details of the story, let me just say, I could have predicted this was coming. It is one more attempt to blame parents for the disorders now plaguing our children and overwhelming schools.

I’ve compiled a year’s worth of stories on the explosion in special needs kids in schools worldwide, especially the ones who have mental/behavioral health issues. “Better diagnosing” and “greater awareness” will be a hard sell on this one (although a number of stories talk about less stigma more openness about mental illness.)

Something is clearly affecting large numbers of kids. We’re being saturated with news reports on the changes in our schools because of the students who cannot learn in a traditional classroom setting. (I’ve written volumes about the coverage over the last year: more special education services, sensory rooms, flexible seating, more therapists, behavior coaches and school psychologists, yoga, school suspensions, and isolation rooms.)

Educators and medical experts have explanations and none of them have to do with toxic exposures damaging children. Most often cited as the reason for the dysfunctional school population is trauma, also known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)—the bad things that happen to kids at home: abuse, neglect, addicted/mentally ill parents, even a death in the family or parents who divorce.

(There is also blame placed on too much social media, lack of sleep, and bullying.)

NOW enter the latest villain: THE DRINKING MOM!

By Anne Dachel

This week’s update: The decline of modern education

INCREMENTALLY, it’s happening everywhere. Our schools are dealing with more and more problems. Collectively, it’s being described as behavioral/social—emotional issues. Incredibly, there is no demand for answers. This is just the way kids are today. Sure, it might have been entirely different back when you were young, but times change—learn to deal with it.

Blame is vaguely laid on social media/Adverse Childhood Experiences, in other words, Smart Phones and bad parents are behind all this.

Look here at one week in the news. We’re supposed to blindly accept that our children are disabled. Mental illness concerns are rampant in schools. One article cites the National Institute of Mental Health saying, “Among adolescents, an estimated 49.5 percent between the ages 13 to 18 have a mental disorder, according to NIMH.”

Excuse me, HALF OF CHILDREN HAVE A MENTAL ILLNESS?

(This is contradicted by the repeated claim in the press that ONE IN FIVE KIDS are mentally ill.) However, I checked this 49.5 figure and yes, that’s the claim.

"According the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, mental illnesses are common, and include many different conditions that vary in degree of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. National survey data estimates that 49.5 percent of children between the ages of 13 and 18 had any mental disorder–and among them, more than 22 percent had a severe impairment.”

 What I fear from all this is that the real neurological issues affecting our children will be eliminated under the term MENTAL ILLNESS. If every other child is “mentally ill,” the ones with autism, severe ADHD, OCD, and a host of developmental problems won’t matter. Our children won’t matter at all.

It’s constant indoctrination. Mental illness is now a normal and acceptable part of childhood. We just need services. So what if it’s autism? It’s just one of the things plaguing us everywhere.

Jan 28, 2018, (UK) Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter: Mental health association calls on government to mark Year of Young People

SCOTTISH Association for Mental Health has called on the Scottish Government to mark the Year of Young People by creating a programme to train all school staff in mental health.

A survey of more than 3,000 school staff respondents in Scotland found more than two-thirds of teachers do not feel they have received sufficient training in mental health to allow them to carry out their role properly—…

Jan 28, 2018, Statford (CT) Daily Voice: Norwalk Teacher Raising Money To Buy Sensory Chairs For Students

Note: We're pleased to see Anne Dachel's work recognized by Weston A. Price Foundation. A 12 year old girl shot and killed two other students yesterday in Los Angeles. America is in a crisis never before imagined. We used to think war was about killing adult men. Our children are broken.

January 26, 2018 By Kendall Nelson

For years I have been working within the vaccine awareness community as an activist for health freedom, hoping to improve the lives of children. In doing so, I have met many heroes—men and women who are not afraid to address the shortcomings of vaccination despite the personal and professional repercussions that sometimes follow. These people are doctors, scientists and parents of injured children who share current vaccine news and studies, as well as ideas. One of these heroes and thought leaders is Anne Dachel from Age of Autism who for the past few months has provided our community with over two thousand news articles written about what she calls “The Decline of the Modern Student.”

SOMETHING IS HORRIBLY WRONG
“Evidence that something is horribly wrong with today’s children is worldwide and it’s growing. U.S. health officials have been silent on these issues for years, but I see a change happening. Actually, it’s been several years in the making, but it’s just now in the news everywhere,” says Dachel. Recent headlines read, “Special Needs Student Population Still Rising,” “Suspension Rates on the Rise,” “Handcuffing of Kids with Disabilities ‘Excessive Force,’ Judge Rules” and “Suicide Rates for Teenage Girls at All-Time High.”

Stress, mental illness, anxiety, depression, and learning disorders—they are plaguing our children at ever-increasing levels. Schools are having trouble accommodating these students while suffering endlessly with discipline issues, violence, expulsions, stressed-out teachers and budget shortfalls. According to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, up to 15-20 percent of children and adolescents aged three to eighteen are inhibited by mental problems such as anxiety, depression and behavioral issues, while the use of antidepressants by young people aged fifteen to nineteen rose 44 percent among boys between the years 2004 to 2013, and by 48 percent among girls in the same period. Similarly, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) here in the U.S. says one in five American children currently has or had a “seriously debilitating mental disorder.”  Read more here.

By Anne Dachel

RECENTLY, I interviewed a friend who both works in a big city public school system AND is the mother of a son with autism soon to be aging out of school.

Questions:

ABOUT YOUR WORK AT SCHOOL:

1. As someone with over 10 years experience in special education at a school in a large metropolitan area, what changes have you personally seen?

I have seen a dramatic increase in students with severe emotional-behavioral disorders.  Many are violent, many are anxious and unable to focus or even sit still, and some seem to have no empathy or moral compass at all.  We still see kids with typical autism traits, and other disabilities.  But now it seems there are far more students with emotional instability.

2. What types of behavior are most concerning for you as a teacher?

The explosive violence and emotional meltdowns that seem to come out of nowhere.While there have always been students who struggle with emotional regulation, it has now become so common that every classroom has one or two (or more) students who need constant monitoring.  We have an on-call crisis intervention team that is summoned to de-escalate kids on a daily basis.  The other students are regularly rushed out of the classroom to protect them from being harmed, which completely disrupts any attempts to teach or maintain a schedule.

3. How are all these issues impacting teachers? What have you observed?

There is extreme fatigue and growing despair among teachers I have talked to.  We find ourselves comparing bruises and horror stories over lunch, rather than talking about curriculum or our personal lives.  Within the first two months of school this year, our program had to add staff to 8 different classroomsin order to handle the out-of-control students. We are constantly devising new strategies to deal with the ever-changing and increasingly violent behaviors, and the special education budget cannot cover all the needs.

4. Do you see more students with an autism diagnosis?

I think the number continues to rise, but that’s partially due to the fact that many children are being “pigeon holed” into autism diagnoses.  The staff wants to help these children, who clearly have issues.  But I see many kids now with a diagnosis of “autism” that barely resemble what we used to see in cases of classic autism.  Many are social, intelligent, and well-spoken.  They don’t have stereotypical or repetitive behaviors.  What they do have is extreme oppositional behavior, emotional instability, anxiety, rage, ADHD traits, depression, and violent outbursts.

ABOUT YOU AS A PARENT:

1. Explain your son’s situation.

My son is in a post-high school transition program for kids with disabilities.  This is his final year, so he’s part of that initial “tsunami” of vaccine-injured adults that will soon be exiting the public education system.  You have been talking about this tsunami for years, but I don’t think the state and federal human services departments have taken heed.  It’s going to be very ugly when there is no longer a place for all these kids to go.

When my son started in his transition program, there were 28 young adults attending his location.  I knew roughly half of the kids and their parents, since the program had two high schools that fed into it.  I was astounded when I realized that there were 7 kids (just among those I knew) whose parents reported they had sustained their disabilities from vaccines.I know there are likely other vaccine-injured students in the program, but even if not – we are talking about 25% disabled by vaccines! 

Note: Anne Dachel is compiling a litany of stories from around the world about the state of pediatric health and its impact on schools. Each day she's adds to her list like Madame Defarge knitting in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. If only the article below were fictional. CDC has a new term to explain the severe changes in violence among children: Adverse Childhood Experiences.  

We just had another school shooting in America, 2 high school students were murdered in cold blood, others injured, none in that building will ever be the same.  Home life has always affected children! Nature versus nurture is real. It's a no brainer that every child deserves a "safe, stable, nurturing" home. Reality is that many children have and have always had terrible home lives.  Anne and I spoke about this today. How is it that children of the depression were not so violent? Children of color grew up with Jim Crow laws that denied them basic human dignity - and yet were not wreaking havoc in their schools requiring safe rooms, evacuations, counseling, medication even.  We played with toy guns and shot each other dead in our back yards while the smell of caps surrounded us. Today, angry, despairing boys are reaching for real guns and do not have the basic human impulse to tell themselves, "NO! THIS IS WRONG." Divorce and verbal abuse are to blame for this shift? So many adopted children (and their families) are suffering from reactive attachment disorder today, and yet kids had been adopted for decades without the heartache and violence of RAD. 

It's CDC's job to look at health within the nation. Somehow ACE as an answer feels similar to what we see in autism. Examine everything except the obvious problem. Blame anything that isn't related to a partner and profitable industry like pharmaceutical. Leave medications and vaccinations out of the equation.

I find it nearly impossible to believe that America has made no progress in school shooting violence since Columbine, Colorado.  There is more violence than ever.  Anne has a story below from Maine that talks about ACE.  I guess we should get used to hearing the term. It may become the new Refrigerator Mom theory. Blame the parents for the out of control violence in the classroom and schools.  It's much more than stress that's toxic in children's lives today. And it comes from the CDC.

From CDC:

Childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity. As such, early experiences are an important public health issue. Much of the foundational research in this area has been referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

Adverse Childhood Experiences have been linked to

• risky health behaviors,
• chronic health conditions,
• low life potential, and
• early death.

As the number of ACEs increases, so does the risk for these outcomes.

The wide-ranging health and social consequences of ACEs underscore the importance of preventing them before they happen. CDC promotes lifelong health and well-being through Essentials for Childhood – Assuring safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children. Essentials for Childhood can have a positive impact on a broad range of health problems and on the development of skills that will help children reach their full potential.

Jan 25, 2018, Bangor (ME) Daily News: These Down East schools want to fix rural education

 “It’s a growing movement, stemming from a Centers for Disease Control study that laid the groundwork for research into the toll adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, take on health and brain development.”

“When ACEs experts talk about trauma, they’re not just talking about poverty, but a range of childhood experiences that can lead to frequent, toxic stress. Those experiences include surviving or witnessing verbal or sexual abuse, going through periods of hunger, and having parents separate or divorce.”

“Some 31 percent of Washington County students recorded at least three adverse childhood experiences, according to the survey, the second highest rate among the state’s 16 counties. …”