3 posts tagged “health care”
Given the appalling statistics regarding the misdiagnosis of autism, this headline is a little misleading. It represents the number of children 'diagnosed' with autism, which may or may not represent the number of children who actually have it. The definition of 'autism spectrum disorder' is a fluid target and is far more inclusive than it ever used to be. It has essentially become a dumping ground diagnosis for any and all disorders of social and/or intellectual dysfunction that can't be categorized elsewhere. The diagnosis has become so pervasive that actual experts in the disorder have lost the floor to the 'anyone can diagnosis it in anybody at any time' crowd. That's why statistics like these are so irresponsible. They unnecessarily frighten parents who are at the whims of movement that has lost its perspective in the rush to jump on the bandwagon. Classic autism is a devastating developmental disorder, which is why labeling children with other more benign behavioral disorders is such a huge disservice to the autism community. Being a little different or a little difficult is not a disease. One would hope our government's main epidemiological clearinghouse would demand better evidence than the subjective diagnosis of millions of children by practitioners who often don't even agree on what constitutes true autism themselves. I have an autistic niece. She is clearly and profoundly disabled and, at age 18, we have accepted that she most likely will be all of her life. Obviously, there is a spectrum of severity in autism and her experience is not necessarily the norm, but it is extremely irritating to me to hear from parents who "cured" their child's autism or whose child "outgrew" their autism. Their success is probably more a reflection of a bad diagnosis than of any miraculous recovery due to diet or therapy. These pretenders to the autism label (especially celebrity ones) diminish the true devastation of autism and spread dangerous misinformation.
Disappointed, but not surprised. Here are a couple of things to remember about Coleman:
1.) He's orignally from New York and is Jewish. He has only recently (since the Republican ascension in 2000) assumed the mantle of a conservative Christian in what appears to be a pretty cynical total political makeover (see point 3).
2.) He and his wife live separately--in separate states as a matter of fact--and he is notorious around Minneapolis for his indiscretions. Frankly, I could care less about a politician's personal life EXCEPT when they are pandering to the morality Nazi's on the right while living a double-life themselves.
3.) Norm Coleman began his political career in Minnesota as a Democrat--a Humphrey/Mondale-style Democrat, no less. When it became clear that the MN Democratic field was full of rising stars and that his prospects were not strong, he switched party affiliation in a stunning display of lack of personal integrity. People change their minds--happens all the time--but to be able to go from the hard left to the hard right virtually overnight certainly raises the possibility that he has no internal moral compass, only career aspirations.
4.) Most egregious of all, the Coleman's have lost children (I believe two) to a rare genetic disease, precisely the kind of disorder targeted by stem cell research. One would hope that suffering these personal tragedies would moderate even the staunchest of Christian critics (which Coleman is only when it suits him). I wonder how his wife feels about his stem cell stance? Maybe he should give her a call. Long distance nights and weekends are free.
All of which goes to show that he is the consumate, finger-in-the-wind politician. It is clear from his double life that he has no strongly held beliefs or values and supports whatever is politically expedient.
Garrison Keillor did a nice expose on him a couple of years ago for the Pioneer Press. Keillor was frustrated the the MN press didn't do any digging on Coleman's past and essentially allowed him to preach morality for the Republican party while ignoring his notorious personal behavior in the Twin Cities. He had a 'thing' for tall blonds like his wife and a cadre of lackeys who helped him set up discreet dalliances. Despite this attempt to be cautious, he could actually be pretty reckless at times. I sat with him, a bunch of his buddies and my tall, blond, stunning friend at Zelo in Minneapolis one night. We were invited to share the table because my girlfriend was just his type, even though he was already holding hands with another blond under the table. I thought it was pretty stupid on his part. He didn't know us from Adam, yet he was clearly flirting with a woman who was not his wife in a public venue in front of strangers. It was tacky, but apparently so common that no one even thought of it as newsworthy.
We can only hope he is a one-termer.
