Two mental disabilities have increased at a stunning rate while everything else has remained nearly the same. From 1995 to 2005 the number of children enrolled in special education has risen 25% while the enrollment in public schools has increased only 10%, which makes sense as more parents find 'special ed' a viable way to get more attention for their children in public schools and plenty of Federal funds. Special ed kids get 6-10 times the level of funding of other public school kids.
One area of growth has been in the category of autism. Children admitted to special ed with autism have increased from 23,000 in this period to 141,000. Another category that has seen a rapid growth as well; “delayed development” grew from 1,000 kids in 1995 to 70,000 in 2005.
What is going on? Both diagnoses are harder to do than “mental retardation” or “specific learning disabilities” the two large categories of special ed students. Is it also easier to exagerate these categories? (Table 249, pp 167)