Here’s the comment:
It should be noted that physical disabilities have decreased as NeuroDevelopmental disorders have INCREASED. And yet, there is so little out there to address most NeuroDevelopmental disorders!
Here’s my answer:
My colleague in London feels this is in part the result of the Nanny State. Not sure if I fully agree, but her point is that we have increased protections for children in all public places, in the goods we use to care for our children. Medical care has been able to increase the safety of deliveries (though I cannot even launch into the problems of C-sections, which are fortunately going down.) We have better antibiotics to end the horrendous impact of encephalitis, etc.
But in the meantime, many of our safety measures have limited children’s abilities to do those things that are healthy brain builders, like rough and tumble play, playing on the floor as infants (actually dirt can be GOOD for you — lowers the later-in-life allergy rate), running all over the neighborhood in fantastic and wide-ranging games of fantasy. Toys that provide lots of vestibular stimulation have been eliminated in many playgrounds, even while some playgrounds have installed newer and safer vestibular toys to replace toys and merry-go-rounds, etc. You folks have heard me going on and on about this in past posts.
But the shift from more PHYSICAL disabilities to more DEVELOPMENTAL disabilities makes sense, even while disturbing.