One of the interesting things about Dr Patrick Elliott is that he's a SURGEON. He happens to have twin boys who regressed into autism, and he, like so many parents, dove into treatment to try to help his boys, and learned a lot along the way.
I like him. I think every parent that I talked after this presentation said they really like Dr. Elliott. He has an incredibly down-to-earth way of presenting to parents, and he brings a dose of reality to a conference filled with parents who would probably do or try just about anything to help a child with autism.
His sense of finding balance, his perspective of doing what makes sense, and looking out for what he calls proprietary predators is practical and real. It's a message that parents looking for treatment and "cures" need to hear.
He makes some incredible points about how facts that we now accept were once ridiculed. One example is the fact that handwashing in hospitals was simply not done, and the individuals who thought handwashing prevented infection were ridiculed before we had a microscope to show us the germs we could not see before.
His discussion of what insurance will cover to extend the life of someone with cancer compared to what insurance will not cover for children with autism was something I'd not considered before. He said that in so many cases, insurance will pay for chemo and radiation to extend the life of someone for six months, a year, two years. And we should do that, he said. (He's right - I agree with him -- we should.) But those treatments aren't durable. They don't last. In autism, we're seeing treatments that improve the quality of life for children and are durable, that last. Children continue to improve. And insurance for the most part, won't cover those treatments.
Food for thought for me. We're fortunate to have Dr. Elliott on this pathway alongside us.
1 comment:
Love it!!!!!
But, I thought peer reviewers are as pure as the wind-driven snow and never subject to bias . . .
Feeling snarky today!
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