Special Reports

(WCCO) "We had concerns about Thomas, probably early on," said Thomas' mother, Antonia Edwardson. "When a child is diagnosed, your whole world changes."

At age 3 and 1/2, Thomas is the new face of autism. He is a child with only mild-to-moderate developmental delays in his speech and ability to communicate socially.

"He's able to express his emotion to us. 'I'm angry.' 'I'm frustrated.' 'Mom, Dad, I love you,'" Edwardson said.

It wasn't always this way. Until a year ago, Thomas' speech was much more limited.

"He would basically just echo back phrases that he heard either through a TV program or something he heard someone else say," Edwardson said.

Edwardson credits an early diagnosis and services through his preschool with the turnaround.

"To have come this far in just a year's time has been wonderful," she said.

Even a few years ago, Thomas may not have been considered autistic. Today, the autism spectrum includes a wider range of children. On one end are those who are classic autistic: emotionally distant children with extremely limited speech.

On the other end are children with Asperger's syndrome: children with normal-to-above average cognitive skills, but difficulty reading people's body language and having conversations.

In the middle are children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder –- Not Otherwise Specified, commonly referred to as PDD-NOS. These children have a range of behaviors pulled from all parts of the spectrum, like rigid adherence to routines or preoccupation with certain topics.

For Thomas, that topic is bugs. On this day, he's fascinated with a lone spider found crawling on the floor. He captured it, and is delighted, asking the bug to say "cheese" for the camera.

But just who decides our kids are autistic?

With no medical diagnosis needed to receive special education services, children in Minnesota can be labeled autistic by school districts alone. With 1 in 81 students getting special services for autism –- more than anywhere else in the country –- could we be over-identifying them?

WCCO-TV calculated the rates for all school districts and charter schools in Minnesota using data from the Minnesota Department of Education. We found the largest districts are servicing children at an even higher rate than the state average.

In the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district, 1 in 44 children are classified as autistic. In Osseo, that number is 1 in 51. In Minneapolis and Anoka-Hennepin, that ratio is 1 in 69. And, in District 112 in Chaska, where Thomas gets his help, it's 1 in 55.

"The educational diagnosis, being much more broad, can include a lot of children who might not fit the medical diagnosis for autistic disorder," said Dr. Stephen Olsen, who works at Park Nicollet's Alexander Clinic which specializes in diagnosing autism.

"The medical person looks at a lot of different medial possibilities, including neurological functioning –- something that the school doesn't," Olsen explained.

"We encourage them to get another pair of eyes, if that's what they need," said District 112's autism specialist Michelle Tierney, who evaluated Thomas.

"It's really important to have a lot of people inputting to have a really good educational plan," said Tierney.

In Thomas' Jamboree preschool, 10 out of 30 children are getting extra help. Roughly three times as many students get services for autism in his district than are estimated to have the disorder by the Centers for Disease Control.

Tierney said there's a reason for that, but not an answer.

"There are more kids," she said. "I don't know why."

St. Paul Schools are above the national average too. One in 107 children is on the spectrum in that district, but the district said a medical diagnosis shouldn't be necessary for getting help.

"We definitely have kids who qualify as having autism spectrum disorder who would not be identified in the doctor's office or even at home," said Cecelia Dodge, special education director for the St. Paul Schools. "Parents see more typical behaviors, because school places different demands on kids."

Alice Seagren is the Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Education. When asked if there are some parents who might be using a district evaluation in place of a medical evaluation, Seagren said, "No, I don't think so."

However, Seagren admits it's a possibility and said districts don't track how many children have both types of screenings. She said districts make it clear they don't diagnose, only identify if a student could benefit from services.

"The earlier we can intervene with them, the chances are that as they progress through the education system, they'll learn more," Seagren added.

Thomas' mother said she wouldn't have left his evaluation solely up to the school.

"We decided for our family that it's important that we have as many people on our team as possible, both at the school district level as well as the medical world," Edwardson said. "I think the biggest challenge for all of us is that we want our children to be children and to live as normal lives as possible."

 

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