Autism Loses an Angel / Brit Parents Pressured: Let Disabled Kids Die

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" Healing Autism: No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

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April 30, 2000 <<New>> Autism Questions: mailto:info@...

Autism Loses an Angel / Brit Parents Pressured: Let Disabled Kids Die

* * Last Day for Autism Website Awards Nominations (Below) * *

Autism Loses an Angel

[Just last Thursday we featured a story about a new Autism Center of

Excellence opening at the Dr. Gertrude A. Barber Center in Pennsylvania.

That good news is now followed by this sad report from Mike.]

This morning at church, we were saddened to learn that Dr. Gertrude A.

Barber passed away suddenly this morning. The Dr. Gertrude A. Barber Center

here in Erie, PA serves more the 2,200 developmentally challenged

individuals in Pennsylvania and beyond, and her center employs more than

1,300 people. She created the center about 45 years ago. She was in the

midst of her greatest challenge to date: to raise $5.5 million for a new

facility that will house a new Autism Center for Excellence. Just last

week, Governor Tom Ridge visited the center to give them $2 million, which

brought them to $5.2 million (just $300,000 shy of their goal). Dr.

Gertrude Barber was to meet Dr. Wakefield and Dr. Rimland in about 3 weeks

at her center for a special seminar on autism.

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Brit Parents Pressured: Disabled Kids “Not for Resuscitation”

[it is argued by opponents to such systems, that socialized, or

rationed health care inevitably leads to such expediencies.]

Reuters - Parents of disabled children are being pressured into

allowing doctors to withhold life-saving treatment in the latest twist in

the “not for resuscitation” saga, a British newspaper said on Sunday.

The reports follow allegations that elderly patients were being

allowed to die by doctors in Britain's beleaguered National Health Service.

The Sunday Telegraph said parents of disabled children were not being

informed that their children may die as a result of doctors withholding

treatment.

It charged that seriously disabled children were being left to die

because doctors had deemed their quality of life so poor they did not merit

being kept alive.

Ann Hargadon said doctors tried to persuade her to allow them to

withhold treatment from her disabled son when he was just 12 months old but

she resisted and her son lived to be 12.

“They ticked us off like two-year-olds for wanting to keep our son

alive,” she told the paper.

Another mother, Carol Glass, told the Sunday Mirror newspaper that

doctors over-ruled her wishes and injected her severely disabled son

with the painkiller diamorphine before leaving him to “die with dignity” --

a decision she refused to accept.

“It seems that some doctors believe they can play God,” Glass, who now

looks after at home, said in the Mirror.

The head of mental health charity Mencap, Kramer, said he had

heard of instances of doctors discriminating against disabled patients.

“We are worried that doctors seem to be saying that people with

learning difficulties are not worthy of the same respect,” Kramer said in

the Sunday Telegraph.

“Our big concern is whether doctors are making judgements without

consulting parents and carers,” he added.

Earlier this month British charity Age Concern compiled a list of 50

elderly patients who were labeled “not for resuscitation” by British doctors

without their consent.

At the time the Department of Health said it did not plan to

investigate whether the claims were widespread, saying doctors and hospitals

had clear guidelines on the issue. "

* * *

Last Day for Autism Website Awards Nominations

LAST DAY For nominations for

Autism Website, Email-List Awards!

Last Day for nominations for the best

autism website and the best autism

email discussion list on the Internet.

Here’s an opportunity to show your

appreciation for those who have made

significant and excellent contributions

to the Internet autism community

through their creation and maintenance

of a website or participation in an

email discussion list.

Whom to Nominate

Show appreciation for your favorite email list or website

by sending to us your nomination by April 30.

There are two categories of autism websites you can nominate from:

One is autism reference, made up largely of lists of autism website

addresses, or links. The other category is of websites composed mainly of

original material of any kind relating to autism. Commercial websites are

not excluded.

A third category goes to the autism Email discussion lists. Bulletin

boards on commercial websites are not excluded. Each member of the list

will be given a citation award.

Send us your nominations, no longer than 500 words by April 30, 2000,

the last day of Autism Awareness Month. The only nominator qualification is

ownership of an email account (nominations will not be accepted by regular

mail). Put the word “award” in the subject line and send it to

FEAT@...

<mailto:FEAT@...>. (FEAT Website and Newsletter are not eligible).

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Editor: Lenny Schafer | Eastern Editor: | News Wire: Ron Sleith

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