Science for Sale in the Autism Wars: Medically necessary autism treatment, the court battle for health insurance and why health technology academics are enemy number one
Product Description
Science for Sale in the Autism Wars is the real-world tale of a landmark legal battle between children with autism versus government and their academic mercenaries. This book is a ‘front row seat’ to the trying struggle to provide children with health care insurance for their medically necessary autism treatment.
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Parents of children who are affected by autism spectrum disorders are well aware of the need to serve as effective advocates for the rights of their children. Presume the battle that needs to be waged when an entire government fights to withhold funding for the only empirically validated intervention for autism, applied behavior analysis (ABA). Freeman describes the events that occur when a lawsuit is brought about by a group of parents hostile to the government of British Columbia. The lawsuit argues for funding for “Lovaas-style” ABA therapy. In an attempt to block the funding of ABA therapy, the government of British Columbia attempts to discredit Lovaas and ABA through a combination of distortions, selective reporting of the research literature, and questionable ethical practices.
In part one, Freeman outlines the specific strategies used hostile to the parents’ lawsuit even as explaining why the government of B.C. is outright incorrect in its assertions hostile to ABA and Lovaas. In the second part of the book, Freeman provides dialogue between the lawyers and witnesses (from actual court minutes) that depict these arguments and counter-arguments. Happily, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in act of kindness of the parents by declaring that early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is a “medically necessary” treatment for autism and that the B.C. government was in violation of the constitutional rights of the children by not providing funding for this treatment. The court also ruled that the case hostile to Lovaas therapy was biased. Unfortunately, the book concludes by pointing out that the government of B.C. appealed the court’s ruling and has still not implemented the funding of Lovaas-style ABA.
This book is a must read for anyone caught up in the lives of someone affected by an autism spectrum disorder. It should also be on the reading list of all legal advocates who work in the field of developmental disabilities. Freeman gives us a wonderful guide for effectively arguing hostile to those who would refute the validity of ABA as a science and as an empirically validated educational intervention. “Science For Sale” is a wonderful “candle in the dark” in the field of autism treatment.
Rating: 5 / 5
Every mother of every child with autism should read this book. It will open your eyes to the way governments use taxpayer dollars to cheat children out of the medical treatment they so vitally need…and it will prepare you for the fight for your own children’s rights. Do NOT miss this book!
Rating: 5 / 5
Another essential read from Sabrina Freeman. Any mother or advocate fighting for the necessary treatment for people with autistic-spectrum disorders must get a copy of this book. It is frightening to see how easily the science can be misquoted and misused in the effort by some to avoiding paying for scientifically-validated treatment. When you have to prepare yourself for the fight, this a resource you must have.
Rating: 5 / 5