Special education numbers for children in the developed world are off the charts. Schools are drowning with discipline issues, deadly allergies, expulsions, budget shortfalls, and stressed-out teachers. It’s an unmitigated disaster. Why is no one asking the most important question of all: where in the world did all these sick children come from?

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisconsin— Anne Dachel is a relentless advocate for the health of America’s children. The mother of an adult son on the autism spectrum, Anne has been a teacher for three decades and has seen the stunning increase in the number of sick children (both mentally and physically) in America’s schools. She writes:

“We keep looking for ways to explain what’s happening to our children, while we pretend nothing has changed. I’ve heard lots of teachers say things like, ‘they come with so many issues from home,’ ‘they used to be kept at home,’ and ‘they used to be in institutions.’

The truth is, kids today live in a chemical soup. Toxins are everywhere. They breathe toxins, eat toxins, and have toxins injected into their bodies. It’s amazing they’re doing as well as they are.

When you look at the number of chronically sick kids that fill our schools, is it such a stretch to realize that their developmental health (social and behavioral) has been equally impaired?”

Anne unfailingly audits the media and how they report on the epidemic rise in autism and other neurological disorders. Her book, The Big Autism Cover-Up: How and Why the Media Is Lying to the American Public is an excellent critique of the mainstream media’s handling of the autism epidemic.

13% of Children are in Special Education!

In the United States, 13% of children are in special education today, with many counties and schools reporting numbers of 25% or higher. And, these numbers are probably understated, according to Anne:

“Our schools are filled with disabled kids who weren’t here 25 years ago. Look at the accommodations on IEPs for students just in regular ed. I’ve had students who are allowed to pace in the back of the classroom or walk out and sit in the hall if they feel overwhelmed. Large numbers of kids couldn’t function in school if they weren’t medicated. We modify tests and assignments for kids who can’t deal with regular work. And that’s just what’s happening in the mainstream classroom.”<