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Number of students with autism up 10 percent statewide

The Centers for Disease Control now lists autism as the fastest growing developmental disability affecting more than 3.5 million Americans.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The number of students living with autism in Tennessee is on the rise.

According to the Tennessee Dept. of Education, 10,432 students were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in 2016-17, a ten percent increase from the 2008-09 school year when 4,595 students were reportedly living with the condition.

The Centers for Disease Control now lists autism as the fastest-growing developmental disability affecting more than 3.5 million Americans.

A new report reveals one in 59 children in the U.S. are born with the condition, up from one in 68 children two years ago.

Local school districts are trying to keep up in the classroom.

Farragut High School senior Quinton Cole is looking for a summer job, but finding the right fit is challenging.

Cole has autism.

The developmental condition affects his ability to communicate and interact with others.

Mike Scripa, a vocational rehabilitation transition case manager for Knox County Schools, is helping Cole explore his options.

"Primarily, we work with groups of students on things like career exploration, job readiness training and self-advocacy training," said Scripa.

Credit: WBIR

Scripa heads up a team of four that travels around the school district, serving about 500 students with disabilities and preparing them for life after graduation.

But the caseload is growing as federal and state funding struggle to keep up.

"Our biggest thing is to see where we can connect students in an efficient way with the other opportunities that are available to them because we're not necessarily going to get to every single student in a one-on-one manner," said Scripa.

7,902 students in Knox County Schools are currently living with disabilities.

Ten percent of those students have an autism spectrum disorder, an increase from nearly a decade ago.

In 2009-10, 563 KCS students were diagnosed with autism, about one percent of the total student population.

In 2017-18, 829 KCS students were reported as living with the condition, about 1.4 percent of the total student population.

Veronica Cordell has two sons living with autism in Knox County Schools. Both are about to graduate.

"Definitely there are more needs for more funding from the federal and state governments in order to cover all the programs that are needed. I think the school system has done a great job of stretching those resources as far as they can to make sure our kids get what they need," said Cordell.

Cordell, a former teacher, knows the challenge of meeting those needs.

"One of the hardest challenges is for teachers who are considered regular ed teachers who aren't special ed teachers to try to understand how to work in the classroom with an individual with a disability, especially an invisible disability like autism where you can't tell by looking at someone that they have a disability," she said.

Credit: WBIR
Farragut HS senior, Quinton Cole, receives employment help from Knox Co. vocational rehabilitation transition case manger, Mike Scripa.

Anthony Hancock has spent the past 16 years in the classroom.

The special education teacher at Bearden Middle School works with dozens of students with disabilities.

"We try to educate every teacher on the caseload that a child has in our class and be aware of the situation," said Hancock.

But keeping up in the classroom is not always easy.

"Twelve to thirteen percent of a typical classroom could have that level of student with disabilities," said Melissa Massie, Exec. Dir. of Student Support Services for Knox County Schools. "Many of our students who have autism spend a lot of their day in the general education classroom, sometimes 100 percent of their day in the general education classroom, so making sure we have supports for teachers and making sure they have the knowledge and understanding is really important to us."

Most students with autism in Knox County are identified before beginning kindergarten and evaluated as early as pre-school.

The district then formulates an individual education plan or IEP.

"Our goal is to always have the student in their least restrictive environment. We have some kids who need additional support so we do have a couple of classrooms that have more specialized programming for students with autism," said Massie.

Credit: WBIR

General education teachers also receive extra training, but Hancock thinks they need more.

"Some students know when to stop when they're having concerns, some students who may have special needs or deficits don't know how to stop. It takes them longer, so teachers may get frustrated," he said.

KCS offers individual training for teachers who need more help in the classroom.

But as the number of students with autism climbs, the school district is making the most of its resources.

"It's not necessarily a school problem. It's a community problem to try and keep up with those big diagnoses," said Cordell.

She said the unemployment numbers tell the story best.

The current unemployment rate in the U.S. for the general population is about four percent.

For people with autism spectrum disorders, the current unemployment rate is nearly 60 percent.

Knox County Schools offers free training on next steps for students and parents, click here to learn more.

Click here to access special education services in Knox County Schools.

Other school districts in the area also reported a rise in the number of students with autism.

Number of students with autism:

Anderson County Schools: 95

Blount County Schools: 93

Sevier County Schools: 120

For more information on autism, click here.

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