Learning and Education Series:
Food For Thought
July, 2006
Over the last couple of years I have had the opportunity to work with children with various learning difficulties. During this period I met a local special education professional who works privately with children and we started a local radio show called Food For Thought (WBCR in Great Barrington, 97.7 FM) which airs every Wednesday morning from 8 AM to 9 AM. This show highlights issues related to children’s health and learning. We have interviewed a number of other health and education professionals and it has been an amazing learning experience. I would like to share what we have been learning and discovering.
Numerous research and current statistics reveal the following. Although autism has been on the rise for various reasons, other learning and cognitive problems have also been increasing. Autism used to be a rare disorder. Just fifteen years ago in western countries the incidence of autism used to be on average one child in 10,000. Now according to many agencies that keep track such as the UK Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control in the US, the autism rates are anywhere from 1 in 166 to 1 in 150 children. That is an amazing change over a 15 or so year history. If autism is purely a genetic disease as was once thought, then how can we account for such a rise. Genetics cannot be the only answer.
Autism used to be thought of as a hopeless condition, but there are emerging treatments and approaches that provide help. The last 10 years has exploded with treatment information.
Other conditions have also exhibited epidemic proportions during this time. Ask any teacher who has been in the field for 20 years or more and they can relate the increasing challenges that have increased over the last 2 decades. Some of these other challenges include, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, dyspraxia, dyslexia, various behavioral, and learning problems, allergies, asthma, and eczema.
What causes even more confusion and frustration is that many children present with a few of these types of problems together. Few children have only one of these problems. Many children have two, three or more of these health problems. For instance, a large percent of allergic and asthmatic children are dyspraxic and hyperactive to various degrees. Many have problems with concentration and attention span, which affect their learning ability. There can be an overlap between dyslexia and dyspraxia and between ADHD and dyslexia. There are other overlaps as well. Thus apart from being hyperactive many autistic children have severe allergies, asthma, eczema, dyspraxia and dyslexia.
The challenges are many and yet many new approaches have produced very positive outcomes. Future articles will explore these in more detail and provide resources for further learning and support. As we continue to exist in a more complicated world, new approaches and treatments are necessary to help our children grow, develop and prosper.
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