4.23.2004

ABA Therapy Is Nasty and Brutish, but You Can Get Your Kids Vaccinated!

Watched that autism special on ABC last night, the one about the couple with three (3!) autistic boys. I vascillated between choking up with tears, and wanting to gouge out the eyes of the insipid reporter. "Isn't it hard?" "Don't you want to give up sometimes?" "Can you rip out your hearts for us and place them on the table so we can really get our viewers' emotions revving?"

Also, while they did a halfway decent job in conveying that ABA therapy is a proven beneficial treatment for autistic children, they of course had to inject an element of fear about its "harshness" and "rigidity."

And, most maddeningly, in discussing the potential causes of autism, they said "It was suspected that mercury in vaccines played a role, but now doctors don't think this is so." What the fuck? Of course the medical establishment is denying this--but the subject is far from closed. Now millions of children are going to go ahead and get vaccines without question, without research, without thinking, because ABC News said it is okay! As my friend MB said this morning, if it turns out that mercury or vaccines are the cause, there's going to be hell to pay.

Enough huffing. I feel for those parents. I saw a lot of Leelo in the kids' behavior. And I was encouraged by the progress they've obviously made. They are doing the right thing, and so are we.

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