Oregon sees rise in students with ADD

From The Oregonian:

A record 72,800 Oregon students qualified for special education services this year, with the biggest growth seen among students with an attention deficit disorder and other chronic health problem that makes it hard for them to succeed in school without special help, the state reported this morning.

The Oregon Department of Education issued its yearly count of special education students, known as the child count, for the 2008-09 school year. It showed that more than 9,000 preschoolers and 72,000 school-aged children qualify for special education services.

Among school-aged children, learning disabilities were the most common reason students need special help at school. About 28,000 Oregon students have a learning disability, the report said.

But the fastest-growing category is "other health impaired," a catch-all category for students who have "limited strength, vitality or alertness" in class due to a chronic or acute health problem. Most of the students in that category have attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Oregon has about 9,300 students getting special education help due to their "other health impairment" this year, the state reported. That's about 600 more students than last year.