Autism: Now What Do I Do?

Sabrina Freeman, Ph.D., is a writer and founder of British Columbia's chapter of Families for Early Autism Treatment (FEAT). She is also the mother of a teenaged girl with autism. As such, she is often asked what to do when a child is diagnosed with autism, pervasive developmental disorder, or Asperger's Syndrome. Freeman recommends 40 hours of therapy per week for a child's language development, individual and social behavior, and pre-academic skills, suggesting solid ways to accomplish this astonishingly intensive approach. Unfortunately, she strongly advocates taking the child to a private diagnostic pediatrician, staying away from “government hospitals,” and this is the video's main weakness for libraries in the United States, where our healthcare situation is reversed (here, private insurers are loathe to take on special needs children since they are not profitable, so state-sponsored early intervention services are often the only help available). In fact, Freeman's vigorous condemnation of government services may easily confuse viewers “south of the border” who are already in a daze from receiving their child's diagnosis, and possibly scare them away from the only assistance they may be able to receive. While definitely recommended for Canadian libraries, this is optional for their U.S. counterparts. Aud: P. (R. Reagan)