Dr. Savage is all over it.
Borders, Language, Culture.
I’m doing my part to stop the unfair characterization of Dr. Savage’s expose of Big Pharma’s play to inflate the numbers of Autism so they can profit selling drugs to kids that don’t need ‘em.
The Big Lie that is out there, that the MSM would love to kill the show with, is that they’re saying Savage thinks Autism doesn’t exist. That’s a flat lie. Savage is clear in saying that Autism is real but vastly over-diagnosed, and for very poor reasons that hurt our kids.
Through a Teacher’s Eyes: A war of words
By Carol Ziemian/ correspondent
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jul 22, 2008 @ 03:06 PM
WESTWOOD —
Call it a war of words. If it is, and they are mightier than swords, they are apt to whet the appetites of those on the left and right for some time.
..........What does this have to do with a war of words? Just about everything.
As I listened Monday to various early morning radio shows and read my city paper as well, I could not overlook the criticism that Savage received in response to one of his recent shows on autism. From the way I see it, he spent more time on the epidemic and drug company profits from its treatment than anything else.
I remember I listened to the show when I was driving back from the Cape last week. Coupled with the newspaper article and the sound bites I listened to Monday morning on WRKO, I have concluded, somewhat because of what I have seen during my years spent in the classroom, much of what he says could help parents who simply want more information because they long for change and hope to shape better lives for their children who may or may not be afflicted with autism or some other learning disability.
Children are often misdiagnosed when it comes to learning disabilities and drug treatment is frequently over-prescribed. Consider the research published in the “American Journal of Public Health” that said as many as ten percent of all children in second through fifth grade have been given prescriptions of Ritalin even though many of them probably don’t have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Health care advocates have blamed the difficulty of educating parents about proper diet as well as how they should parent their children as a contributing cause of the over-prescription of Ritalin during the last decade or so.
Granted, Savage used hyperbole to get the attention of his audience.
When he said, “In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out,” he was obviously wrong. But he also said some things that need to be heard. He warned of the record-breaking surge in cases and the best and worst that often accompanies the diagnosis of children with any learning disabilities.
If nothing else, Savage will get parents thinking and make them want to become better informed. As for why all the fuss and why there are threats now by some to call for Savage to be silenced and to be fired, all I can think is that it is really a battle between the right and the left.
If he were Cosby, they would react the same and have. Troubling but true........”
Westwood resident Carol Ziemian teaches writing at Northeastern University. Her column appears in the Daily News Transcript on Wednesday. She can be reached at YankeePenn@aol.com.
http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/education/x2043514334/Through-a-Teachers-Eyes-A-war-of-words?view=print
Hello, Savages and Savagettes! This latest autism-related turn has made for some interesting shows, hasn’t it?