The overall number of children served by such programs grew from 3.72 million in 1977 to 5.68 million in 2000, an increase of 53%. During this same period, the total number of children in the age ranges covered3 grew by only 8% in the population. In terms of number of children served per 100,000 children, the increase between 1980 and 20004 was 57%, rising from 6.1 in 1980 to 9.5 children per 100,000 in 2000.
If we looks at specific disabilities separately, a variable pattern emerges. The curves in the graph present data on the number of children participating in the four largest program areas — those serving the greatest number of children. There are eleven program areas for which data are collected and reported by the U.S. Department of Education. For the 6 areas not charted,the number of cases in each were too small to be usefully included in the graph. All 11 areas are presented in the table below.
In most areas the number of disabled children being served is up, in some dramatically. In two areas, numbers are down. The table provides percentage change figures for each category. The change measured is the change in number of children served per 100,000 children — the data are thus normalized for shifts in population.
Percentage Change in Participation Rate per 100,000 Children by Type, 1980-2000
| Program Type | % Change | Period if other than specified |
| Other Health Impairment | 169 | |
| Learning Disability | 148 | |
| Multi-handicapped | 108 | |
| Emotionally Disturbed | 58 | |
| Orthopedic Impairment | 23 | |
| Speech Impairment | 1 | |
| Deaf and Hearing Impaired | -1 | |
| Mentally Retarded | -8 | |
| Developmental Delay | 398 | 1998-2000 |
| Autism | 215 | 1994-2000 |
| Traumatic Brain Injury | 137 | 1994-2000 |
All but three areas have seen a marked increase. Are we experiencing an epidemic level increase in number of children with disabilities? If so, where is the outcry? Or, are we instead properly diagnosing more children and enrolling them in special programs at a higher rate? If so, this could be a good thing.
The questions posed are difficult to answer. It has only been since the mid-1990s that data collection systems have been designed to gather information systematically about the disabled population. Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 made these new systems necessary. "We have never had a national population-based survey that focused on all ages or on all causes of disability. As a result, we know almost nothing about some very important policy-relevant groups, such as children with disabilities and people with developmental disabilities.5"
This will change as we gather the appropriate data through new surveys and census forms. In the meantime, one way to try and make sense of the ever-growing numbers of children participating in programs for the disabled is to look at the legislation behind these programs.
| Some of the key legislation governing special education is listed here. | ||
| 1966 | Congress established the first Federal grant program specifically for chil-dren with disabilities. It also established the Bureau of Education of the Handicapped. | |
| 1970 | The Education of the Handicapped Act was passed. This act recognizedunder a single law programs that had been established by the new Bureauof Education of the Handicapped in the intervening years. | |
| 1973 | The Rehabilitation Act was passed, a civil rights statute for persons withdisabilities. | |
| 1975 | The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed. This lawmandates specific provisions for all handicapped children. These includeaccess to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment possible and an individualized education program for each child, the design of which is to involve parents or guardians. | |
| 1990 | The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed.This law is an extension (and renaming) of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. It reauthorizes and expands the discretionary programs and mandated services covered in the original law. It also adds autism and traumatic brain injury to the list of disabilities covered.Amendments were added in 1992 to increase coverage so that infants andtoddlers with disabilities are included. | |
| 1997 | The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was amended. Changeswere made to increase the parental role, assist education agencies withfunding, guard against mislabeling of children due to racial, ethnic, andlinguistic differences, and encourage non-adversarial means of disputeresolution between parents and educators. | |
It is absolutely no surprise — given this level of effort, attention, and funding — that the number of disabled children participating in special programs has risen sharply.
Once data become available from the new surveys and census forms put into place in the mid-1990s, we will begin to count all disabled children. And that is when we will be able to determine whether or not a growing number of our children are disabled.
For more about disabled children see a panel in Chapter 2 on "Attention Deficit Disorder and Learning Disability," as well as several panels on "Special Education" in Chapter 13 of the companion volume Community and Education.
Source: Data for the graph were taken from four different editions of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States, editions 1980, p. 363, 1990, p. 146, 1995, p. 171, 1999, p. 186, and 2000, p. 175. The Quote is from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy, Federal Disability Data: Creating a Structure in the 1990s to Further the Goals of the ADA, December 1992, available online at http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/report/feddd.htm.
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