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Media Watch Letters
Source Dear Ms. Goodwin, Thank you for your article, “Doubt Cast on Usefulness of ‘Sensory’ Therapies for Autism” (HealthDay News, May 28, 2012). For parents of children diagnosed with autism, the decision over treatment can be a complicated one. Sadly, scientifically supported treatments for autism, such as applied behavior analysis (ABA) are often overshadowed…
Source Dear Mr. Toppo, Recently, you published an article touting the therapeutic uses of the popular Kinect gaming platform for children with autism (“Video games boost autistic kids” June 1, 2012). You further highlighted a number of testimonials provided by teachers who have installed the Kinect platform in the classroom and have witnessed marvelous…
Source Dear Ms. Lavoie: I am writing to extend my appreciation for your story titled, “Massachusetts Emergency Workers Learn to Recognize Autism†(Boston.com, May 27, 2012), and commend you for raising awareness about an important issue for individuals with autism and their caregivers. Teaching first responders about autism and the complexities involved in interacting…
Source Dear Dr. Gold, In your May 30 piece (“Could sensory integration disorder be the primary problem?“ Boston.com), you suggest that a root cause of developmental and mental health disorders, including autism, OCD, anxiety and depression, may be sensory integration (SI) disorder. As anecdotal evidence, you point to the reported sensory discomforts of some…
Source Dear Ms. Belluz, We read with great interest your article entitled, The Battle Over The ‘Cure’ for Autism (Macleans.ca, January 26, 2012), and applaud your efforts to address and assess a number of treatments for autism which have been popularized in the media over the past several decades – despite the fact that very few…
Source Dear Mr. Schofield, Here at the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT), we have a Media Watch initiative to identify how the media is portraying autism and what is said about treatment, and are writing to you with the following comments on your BBC News piece (“France’s autism treatment ‘shame,’” BBC News,…
Source Dear Ms. O’Connor and Mr. Elmore, We are writing in response to your online article, “Autism rate rises; disorder now affects 1 in 88 children” (March 30, 2012), and commend your coverage of what we see as a very important topic: the growing population of individuals diagnosed with autism. However, we have some…
Source Dear Editor: Thank you for your recent story entitled, “Doctor fired over autism treatment” (UPI.com, January 10, 2012). Parents of children with autism are bombarded with treatment options, often to the point of confusion. You correctly inform the reader that “the treatment [hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)] would offer families false hope.” We would like…
Source Dear Mr. Mnookin, Thank you for your tireless efforts at providing a voice of reason in the continual storm of sensational journalism on the purported connection of vaccines and autism (The Panic Virus, 2011). Given your book’s examination of the limits of rational thought, I imagine that it must be frustrating to note…
Source Dear Mr. Leys, We read your recent article, “Autistic man struggles in Iowa’s mental health system” in the Des Moines Register (February 4, 2012), and applaud you for bringing to light a challenging, but unfortunately prevalent situation for many adults with autism and their families. You captured the heartbreaking reality that many individuals with autism in…
Source Dear Mr. O’Donoghue, We applaud you and the Irish Times for your article “French film ban raises autism issue” (February 9, 2012), in which you join thousands of people worldwide who are supporting the denouncement of France’s predominating psychoanalytical ideology and treatment of people with autism. Thank you for shedding further light on this…