Why are there so many children with IEPs nowadays?

[Anonymous]

I'm a 5th grade teacher AND the parent of a child with ADHD. No, parenting does not CAUSE ADHD. But hell yes, parenting/"nurture" can play a major role in how symptoms are presenting, how the child acts, and the prognosis of the child's condition. Are there really people who think it does not?!

[Anonymous]

What is an SN parent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 5th grade teacher AND the parent of a child with ADHD. No, parenting does not CAUSE ADHD. But hell yes, parenting/"nurture" can play a major role in how symptoms are presenting, how the child acts, and the prognosis of the child's condition. Are there really people who think it does not?!

more recess would help quite a few

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10% of the population historically has had ADHD. No idea what % has ASD. The diagnostic criteria are clearer now, there is no stigma and the way school is run today makes the learning disability noticeable. I think in the past with smaller classes, lots of recess and PE time and lower sit in your seat bored, kids with mild ADHD were fine until high school.

I agree with this as a former public school teachers. There is so much over emphasis on reading and Math scores instead on helping kids with self-regulation and building community.

[Anonymous]

Advanced Parental age is a factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 5th grade teacher AND the parent of a child with ADHD. No, parenting does not CAUSE ADHD. But hell yes, parenting/"nurture" can play a major role in how symptoms are presenting, how the child acts, and the prognosis of the child's condition. Are there really people who think it does not?!

more recess would help quite a few

For sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Advanced Parental age is a factor.

+1
Hard to see how it would not be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Advanced Parental age is a factor.

Hmm my severe ADHD kid is my second. You would think my 4th would have the issues :/. I get what your trying to do here but all these generalizations miss the mark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10% of the population historically has had ADHD. No idea what % has ASD. The diagnostic criteria are clearer now, there is no stigma and the way school is run today makes the learning disability noticeable. I think in the past with smaller classes, lots of recess and PE time and lower sit in your seat bored, kids with mild ADHD were fine until high school.

I agree with this as a former public school teachers. There is so much over emphasis on reading and Math scores instead on helping kids with self-regulation and building community.

Almost all of my kids iep goals have to do with interactions and number of prompts to do something. None of them are academic.

[Anonymous]

Why? Probably because there is more research into the various learning issues, ADHD, autism, and other health/mental health issues that can impact a child's ability to learn. It is probably the same answer for why we hear more about cancer and other health issues, we know that they exist today when we didn’t 50 years ago.

Parents who are educated, have a bit more time, and a bit more know how are researching why their child is struggling and bringing issues to their pediatricians attention or the Teachers attention or having their child evaluated by a professional on their own. Heck, that is what my Mom did in the 198’s for my brother and I but she had to go to the library to do that and we were both diagnosed with LDs in Kindergarten. She said she was diagnosed the day I was diagnosed and it was a huge relief to know that she wasn’t stupid like her Teachers had told her in the 1950’s. Mind you, she was working on her Masters when she stopped her schooling.

There is more information, it is more accessible, and it allows parents to ask questions.

A diagnosis of a LD or ADHD or Autism or any other number of issues does not immediately mean a child gets an IEP, there has to be an educational impact that is preventing the child from learning grade level material. That can be a bone of contention because many parents think an IEP is to help a child reach their potential but it is not, it is to be on grade level. And parents probably have a different idea of what grade level means versus the school. I am not saying that the school is always right, I am saying that what parents think the school should be doing can be very different then what the school should be doing.

There is a reason why IEP numbers are higher for wealthier families then poor families, this is due to access to outside testing and better ability to see a problem and research the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Advanced Parental age is a factor.

Hmm my severe ADHD kid is my second. You would think my 4th would have the issues :/. I get what your trying to do here but all these generalizations miss the mark.

You do understand how population averages work right? Just because something is not true in every single case does not mean it’s not true on a population wide level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter has ADHD and dyslexia. You blaming me for that is pretty disgusting.

I’m not sure who you’re talking to — maybe the PP who said poor parenting? I’m curious what you mean by “blaming”. Would you consider it blaming if it turns out you and your spouse have gene variants that combined to increase the risk for one or both of these diagnoses? They do go hand in hand fairly often.

There are so many genes that influence brain development, cognition, and behavior. And they interact with the environment which can include parenting. I think if we knew more about all of this, and if we had more widespread genetic testing, we would all have a better understanding of why we and/or our kids have various diagnoses. And there would be a lot less blame and guilt along with more resources to help parents learn how they can influence their children’s outcomes positively.

I'm really interested in your "scientific" assessment of disabilities and I'm really curious what parenting can influence a child's dyslexia? Just curious, since you seem to think you know a lot.

Stop centering yourself here. I was referring more to ADHD. Go ahead and look up the literature on parenting styles, parenting interventions, and outcomes for ADHD. Here’s just one study to get you started: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18392155/ .

I bet a ton of money I know more than you. But you think you have all the answers because of your experience with your one dyslexic child. You clearly have a massive chip on your shoulder. I’m sure that does affect your child whether you realize it or not.

What I have a massive chip on my shoulder about is ignorance, specifically ignorance related to people with disabilities. You are saying bad parenting is causing ADHD and that is a load of horse shite. There is no way in h3ll you know much about this at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a 5th grade teacher AND the parent of a child with ADHD. No, parenting does not CAUSE ADHD. But hell yes, parenting/"nurture" can play a major role in how symptoms are presenting, how the child acts, and the prognosis of the child's condition. Are there really people who think it does not?!

more recess would help quite a few

More recess would help every kid, not just kids with disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mass-produced school is anti-human, so when school becomes normalized, humans become "abnormal".

This. I think public school needs to be one model and there needs to be at least one or two other models.
The one size fits all model is broken beyond repair and public school spend more time and money on fighting parents than it does helping children.

Public school does work for everyone and that’s why homeschooling is also an option…as well as private and virtual school.

You going to hand out the school vouchers to make sure it's actually an option for everyone who needs it? Or are people just supposed to homeschool around working 2 jobs to make ends meet?

What's really funny is that the vouchers are worthless because good private schools for kids with disabilities don't exist. Good luck finding one a reasonable distance from you. Also that voucher would probably cover less and 1/5 of the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am baffled at the number of children having IEPs at our school. It seems like there is an ever increasing number of children who are hyperactive, uncooperative, can't listen or do anything on their own (poor executive functioning - what is that and why is it happening) ... it is truly heartbreaking to see that, it is also very obvious how difficult life is for the parents of these children, very alarming and heartwrenching. What do you think is contributing to this change with our kids?? Is it something we are doing? Is it the environment? The food? The screens? I know there is likely a lot more proper diagnosis and attention but it can't all just be that we diagnose more acurately today vs. 20 years ago. thank you

There were just as many with IEP-worthy conditions when I was in school 30 years ago. The difference is that back then the treatment was “Sit down, shut up and do as you’re told, there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re just lazy.”

Hard to believe that didn’t work out well.

And things are working out well in the present day?

Despite it being a difficult path through the public school system with a child with disabilities, fewer of the kids in this population are ending up in the criminal justice system.