XPost: misc.health.alternative, alt.psychology   
   From: markprobert@lumbercartel.com   
      
   Mister Superstar wrote:   
   > Day Brown wrote...   
   >> But if you know anything at all about statistics, the mere *fact* that   
   >> small Ozark hill towns and the Amish have such low rates should ring   
   >> loud alarm bells about a cultural effect.  In both cases, the schools   
   >> are small, the attendance rates are high, and the rate of contagious   
   >> pathogens is a lot lower because bugs dont have time to mutate thru   
   >> enough kids before it runs out of new victims.   
   >   
   > I was listening to yet another NPR segment on autism last week and the   
   > person they interviewed pointed out the very large in ADHD diagnoses   
   > around 1991 when a federal law allowed "special needs" kids to be   
   > exempted from standardized testing,   
      
   Incorrect. IDEA predated 1991. However, in 1991, the Federal Department   
   of Education told Local Education Authorities that they had better get   
   with the program and start looking as why Johnny cannot read.   
      
   A memo was issued wherein they said that AD/HD could be classified under   
   "Other Health Impaired" IF it was interfering with a child's learning.   
   Testing exemptions were NOT addressed, but could be addressed under IEPs.   
      
   What ensured was school districts actually began testing and referring   
   students, but very grudgingly.   
      
     and I think the schools also got   
   > extra money for such kids.   
      
   The only "extra" money was to cover the "extra" costs of resource rooms,   
   aids, etc. There was no windfall for school districts, and, many wound   
   up spending more than they were reimbursed.   
      
   >   
   > My local newspaper always covers the test results for area schools,   
   > along with the occassional story on teachers and administraters helping   
   > the kids cheat so as to increase the school's scores and avoid being   
   > penalized.  Autistic kids don't have to take the test, so isn't is   
   > possible that one ore more kids who were diagnosed autistic aren't   
   > really autistic at all?   
      
   Hopefully not. Schools do not diagnose.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)