By Anne Dachl

It never ceases to amaze me how, particularly in the UK, there is talk about what is happening with children’s health and yet no one is concerned. (Maybe there are concerns about how high the cost will be, but that’s it.)

WHY WHY WHY

Nobody asks, “Why Can’t Billy learn like kids used to do?”

“Why as many students qualify for special schools and why Do so many children need special education plans in regular schools?”

“why Is autism a category unto itself, to the point where we have to have an entire school to give those affected an education?

Instead, as my website shows, those in power are stumbling over the costs and complaining about the costs while adding more and more housing for children who cannot learn normally.

At the moment we are always focusing on children/students, but soon the day will come when we need to recognize across the population that people cannot function and need critical support.

Will we ever wake up

Here’s another week in the decline of education and childhood worldwide Loss of confidence in the brain.

US stories

Spokane, Washington: A new autism school will open on January 4th. She has room for 20 children, but there were “more than 50 applications”.

New Orleans, LA: “In response to a growing number of children with autism spectrum disorder,” a service provider is working with a local school.

The manager is “so excited”.

Rothschild, WI: A ribbon cutting ceremony was held to mark the opening of the new autism center.

Berlin, CT: The city has also cut the ribbon on a new autism center. Ten to 15 families are currently registered and more are coming.

Oshkosh, WI: A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for an autism early learning center.

Beach wood, OH: A clinic for autism has just opened. The clinic manager: “We are so excited.”

New York: A MP calls for better autism services. He said there has been a “significant increase in autism.”

Maryland: The governor appointed the “first statewide autism coordinator.”

The same article assured us that there is no real problem with autism.

Researchers suspect that the rise in autism rates could be due to increased awareness of the condition.

Copperas Cove, TX: Out of respect for autistic students, the district has “created sensory-friendly classrooms in every elementary school.”

They have now extended “sensory friendly” spaces to the school corridors.

Melbourne, FL: An ABA provider has opened a new center for autistic children.

From England:

A Member of Parliament in Great Britain has proposed in Parliament a bill to universally screen all children in primary school for dyslexia.

Sheppey: A new special school for 50 pupils is being planned for the 2025/2026 school year.

Ipswich: The rector of a new special school is “very enthusiastic” about the academy with 60 places.

Croydon: A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the opening of an autism school for 150 students.

Croydon: Perhaps the need for the new special school lies behind the report that 80% of the parents surveyed here made the “scathing” claim that special education institutions do not prepare students for adulthood.

suffolk: Local council seeks more funding for special education.

Dorset: There is a $50 million plan to expand specialty education services across the county, which should eventually add 500 new places for students with disabilities.

Fenland: A local mother has started a petition to get more special school places for disabled children.

“There are many children with special needs [town of] March and I can’t understand why we don’t have our own special school or at least a special unit for them – it doesn’t make sense, that’s why I started this petition asking the school board to do something about this situation. ”

Gwynedd: The local council has added $64,000 to a $190,000 plan to fight autism.

Officials are calling it an “exciting” plan.

A district of London: The new principal was appointed at a local autism school. She said this is “an exciting time”.

Hertfordshire: Although the special education budget will be increased by $10 million, that is not enough.

Hertfordshire County Council has increased investment in SEND funding in mainstream schools across the country by £9.5m [$13M] to £17.5m [$23M] this year.

The Department for Education says it will support councils with £2.6billion [$3.5B] available over the next three years to create new places and improve existing services for students with special educational needs and disabilities… A local mother with an autistic daughter made it clear that this was not enough.

…there are too few places, too few schools and too little support. “The government should do more to support local authorities, they should allocate more funds to their education.

“The council can’t help, there are no places in special schools.” … Jen said, “Now, after almost two and a half years of fighting, Ava has a place at Woodfield School for Special Needs in Hemel, but there is a four-year waiting list… .

…because there are simply no places. There are not enough special schools….

The pressure is on in Hertfordshire.

“The demand for SEND support continues to grow and presents us with challenges both nationally and here in Hertfordshire. Like many local authorities, we are seeing high demand for specialist care, with a 37% increase in students with Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs) over the past three years, as well as the added challenges of COVID-19….

“Our 2020-23 Special Education Planning Strategy sets out our commitment and investment to create over 300 new permanent special education places and develop a statewide pattern for the delivery of specialist resources in mainstream schools.”

Cheshunt: A nursery and preschool in this London borough have won the National Autistic Society’s inclusion award

“This award recognizes his commitment to embracing and celebrating the uniqueness of each child. …”

The National Autistic Society has long ignored the autism epidemic among children and regularly reminds the public that autism affects all age groups equally.

Other places

Ireland: We are told that a mother is “desperate” to get her autistic son a place in secondary school.

Ms Gould said she and other parents of children with autism in the city had to apply to over 20 schools across the county in hopes of securing places for their children next year….

But despite being one of Cork’s largest cities, Ballincollig’s two mainstream secondary schools do not have dedicated autism units.

Ontario, Canada: The government is trying to do more for autistic students in kindergarten and first grade. Among the facts cited:

In July 2019, the Ontario government increased the budget of the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) from approximately $300 million to $600 million annually to ensure the program is both needs-based and sustainable. …

By the time work was completed to implement this new program, approximately 40,000 children and youth were receiving services and support through an existing OAP behavior plan, child budgets, interim funding, core clinical services, essential family services, and caregiver-mediated early childhood programs.

India: In one city, parents concerned about the future of their autistic children have set up a residential home for autistic children and their families.

The question for most parents of children with autism or disabilities is, “What happens after us,” said Arunasis Adhikari, a parent and one of the people behind the project.

“The concern of most parents is who will take care of their children after death. We want other parents who have children with autism to take responsibility because they understand their issues and show empathy,” said Adhikari, also secretary of a foundation that runs a school for special needs children in the city.

No one seems to question why autistic young adults can’t go where autistic adults have always gone. Why are they so afraid of the future of our autistic children? What is the lack of adult services really telling us right now?

Anne Dachel is media editor for Age of Autism.