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 [Paperback]

Sabrina Freeman (Author), Gary Mayerson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 23, 2003

Science for Sale in the Autism Wars is the real-world story of a landmark legal battle between children with autism versus government and their academic mercenaries. This book is a front row seat to the difficult struggle to provide children with health care insurance for their medically necessary autism treatment.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

It is unfortunate that this group of academics is going to achieve the rationing of health care for a very vulnerable group of children who desperately need treatment and, at the publication of this book, have no other effective treatment for their intractable disorder.  The BCOHTA report of Lovaas Treatment in its published form, for years will haunt parents of children with autism fighting for their children's rights in courts around the world (particularly in parliamentary democracies).  Justice will elude these children as governments work to save money and academics pad their curriculum vitae.  In view of the autism experience, it is my sincere hope that the health technology movement will question the unhealthy influence that government funding has in shaping their research; however, I am not optimistic that health technology academics are capable of self-policing.  Consequently, this movement will continue to grow and exert disproportionate influence at the highest levels of government.  If this is permitted to happen, it will be to the detriment - globally - of children with autism.  It is my hope that this book puts the necessary spotlight on the harmful role of health technology assessment in the ongoing autism wars, wherever the next battle is waged.

From the Inside Flap

Science for Sale in the Autism Wars is a book about a very important part of the Autism Wars in Canada - the role played by government funded academics against parents, in the difficult struggle to provide children with publicly funded health care insurance for medically necessary autism treatment that is their constitutional right.   Science for Sale in the Autism Wars takes a close, hard look at the Health Technology Assessment movement through the lends of what amounts to a rare case study opportunity - the Auton et al. V. British Columbia court case, which attempted to gain publicly funded autism treatment for children.  The case study shows that health technology has become a biased enterprise conducted by academics who seem to view themselves as the guardians of Medicare, the publicly founded health care system in Canada.  The book exposes advocacy research from an academic group that is not accustomed to the limelight of scrutiny.  One usually does not hear much about them, but they have the close ear of government and have tremendous influence regarding what gets into -and is kept out of - the health care system.  In that sense, exposing the government's autism wars agenda exposed the health technology movement as a whole and acts as an inoculation kit against biased, anti-autism treatment advocacy research of the Health Technology movement.   Science for Sale in the Autism Wars is also dedicated to helping those in need of expensive autism health-care who are fighting to have that treatment covered, whether by government or private health insurance.  Although the group of academics discussed here is situated in Canada, there are health technologists everywhere.  Therefore, work done in Canada has grave implications for parents of children in the United States and the rest of the world.  American insurance companies and physician journals have already incorporated the autism report written by health technologists in Canada into their web-sites as justification for not funding or supporting intensive behavioral treatment for children with autism.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: SKF Books, Inc. (December 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096575653X
• ISBN-13: 978-0965756532
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,693,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sabrina Freeman (1958-) was born in Montreal, Quebec, and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. She graduated from Stanford University in 1995 with a Ph.D. in Sociology, specializing in small group research and the study of organizations. Upon her return to British Columbia, Freeman spent 14 years advocating for the rights of children with autism to be included in the government funded health care system for their core health need -- autism treatment. During this period, so many parents were desperate to access treatment programs that Freeman created a 35 minute VHS/DVD [Autism: Now What Do I Do?] to help guide parents through setting up science-based treatment programs for their children. In 2002, she was awarded Queen Elizabeth's 50th Golden Jubilee Medal for advocacy work done on behalf of children afflicted with autism. Freeman's advocacy culminated in the now famous Supreme Court of Canada ruling Auton (Guardian ad litem of) v. British Columbia in 2004.

During these 15 years, Dr. Freeman wrote several books on autism, one of which [Teach Me Language] has been subsequently translated into French, Italian and Norwegian. The next book she wrote, [Science for Sale in the Autism Wars], chronicles the struggle children with autism face against a system that does not recognize their rights to treatment. Her most recent book [The Complete Guide to Autism Treatment (2011)] is an up-to-date evaluation on the various treatments offered for children with autism. Her hope is that through her scholarship, thousands of parents will not have to go through the uncertain journey of generations of parents of newly diagnosed children. Instead, parents can quickly evaluate various treatments and make sure that their child receives science-based treatment rather than treatments based on testimonials and good wishes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do not miss this..., February 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: 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 (Paperback)

Every parent 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!

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an essential read, January 3, 2004

By 

Bobby Newman (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 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 (Paperback)

Another essential read from Sabrina Freeman. Any parent 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.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A bright light in the fight for effective autism treatment!, May 26, 2004

By 

Kenneth F. Reeve (Caldwell College, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 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 (Paperback)

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. Imagine 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 against 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 against the parents' lawsuit while explaining why the government of B.C. is outright incorrect in its assertions against ABA and Lovaas. In the second part of the book, Freeman provides dialogue between the lawyers and witnesses (from actual court records) that depict these arguments and counter-arguments. Happily, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in favor 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 against 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 involved 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 against 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.