This Newsday story says one reason that rich school districts classify five times as many kids as autistic is that those schools have special programs to teach autistic students, while poor districts don't.
The story says medical experts attribute the gap to wealthy parents having access to better health care, so they can get a diagnosis earlier in their child's life. The diagnosis sets into motion school services for special needs kids:
Medical experts blame the problem not so much on schools as on a lack
of quality health care in low-income neighborhoods. Research shows
toddlers in poor families who aren't taken on regular visits to
pediatricians are less likely to have their autism diagnosed when it
first appears -- usually, before age 3.
"The kid who might
otherwise get diagnosed at 3 might not get diagnosed until age 7," said
John Gilmore, executive director of Hicksville-based Autism United. "It
may make the difference between being institutionalized in later life,
or living more independently, and that has huge implications for
taxpayers."
Have you looked at where education dollars are spent to educate autistic and other special needs kids in your community? Is it the same in every part of town?
