Coy Barefoot, host of Charlottesville–Right Now!, discusses autism and the National Autism Association’s “How Much Longer” campaign.
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Coy Barefoot, host of Charlottesville–Right Now!, discusses autism and the National Autism Association’s “How Much Longer” campaign.
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Thank you Coy.
My Fav is the letter to President Obama too. I feel the same way when I read it.
Thank you for this broadcast.
Thank you Coy. Glad to hear your boy is doing well! We have more bad days than we’d like. Walmart cringes when we walk in the door!!! I sent my letters from the NAA today and asked many of my friends and family. No one gets it until it’s on their doorstep. How much longer? Thank you again Coy!!! You are much appreciated!
Coy, what a great radio bit and letter to the president on the travesty that is the political ignoring of a real healthcare crisis – the devastating of 1 in 100 boys with the crippling autism disorder. You provoke us, properly, with the comparison of the rushed, untested vaccine for the exaggerated swine flu “crisis”, with the footdragging over care for, and investigation of, the autism pandemic. I shared your podcast at my Facebook profile, so hopefully friends will listen to your moving talk, and join the Natl Autism Assn’s campaign to push political leaders to let us know “how much longer” (must we wait).
You mention also the uninsurability of autism. Don’t hold your breath for the mainstream media to discuss practical solutions, but if catastrophic insurance – from any state – were allowed to be offered, and tax deferred medical savings accounts proliferated, thus giving patients to power to exercise some cost discipline over the health care profession (which itself needs deregulation to give consumers more choices), then I could see insurers competing to cover more health care problems. As it now stands with the gross government-caused distortions, third party payors, whether private or public, have to avoid care to make a profit with the premiums. Indeed, as more people suffer under the public-private “partnership” now unfairly labled a “market-based” system, demand slowly will increase for politicians to complete government’s takeover of health services – and rationing will only be exacerbated, to the worsening detriment of families with the more expensive health demands.
On top of health system reform that puts consumers in control, we need to remove FDA from the doctor-patient relationship. It’s FDA that’s approving Big Pharma’s dangerous drugs, including vaccines. Let companies offer any drug they want, and let consumers use private third party info to guide their decisions – and, most importantly, let perveyors of harm suffer legal consequences if they create an autism-like crisis.
Sorry to get on my soapbox, Coy, since today is your day, with the beautiful radio performance. So sad to hear about your family’s travails. God bless.
CFroh
I took part in NAA’s action today. It was a good effort but I’m sorry to tell you that it won’t do any good.
Blacks ASKED for decent treatment for 300 years. They only GOT decent treatment when they stopped asking and TOLD the government they were going to have it.
I don’t ask the government, I tell them. Will anyone join me in TELLING the government to stop this nightmare or will you let this go on for 300 years by ASKING?
Thank you so very much!!!
I find myself deeply moved. This morning my 5 y/o daughter boarded a school bus for the first time to her first half-day of Kindergarten at a beautiful private school. I drove up to meet the bus and take her to her classroom. The children were serious and excited. No screaming or crying, no self-injurious behavior – just beautiful, beautiful children in a safe, secure and loving environment. The way it is supposed to be. My God, I am so blessed.
My only experience of autism was, actually, about thirty years ago when I had a girlfriend who worked for a time at the Deveraux (sp?) center in PA. But I am no stranger to chronic disability, having been a chronic pain relief activist for about six year and a chronic pain patient for a slightly fewer number of years. Surely the experiences are profoundly different, and I would not trade place with Mr. Coy, and I am sure he would gladly choose chronic severe pain for himself if only his son could have had the wonderful experience my daughter did this morning. So please, I am not comparing.
I too will take part in todays action. My heart goes out to Mr. Coy and the autism community. Thank you for speaking from the heart, from experience. Very powerful work.
..alex…
Alexander DeLuca, M.D., MPH, ABAM
doctordeluca@gmail.com
Thank you for sharing. I am saddened to hear of your son’s challenges and the impact it has had on your family. I am glad you are able to find the joy in the daily successes…I hope that many more follow. I saw a story on the news tonight about a little girl who made great strides through the use of music and singing, it seemed to unlock doors of communication for her.
Thank you for your impassioned plea, and you are right, we all need to become more aware, and do whatever we can to get the medical community and our political leaders to acknowledge something is happening to affect our children, and that it affects us all. I have friends whose children also are living with autism….I hope that soon we will have more answers and solutions for all of the children and families affected, and those to come.
I was moved in listening to your program. Listening to you desribe your Son and your experiences reminded me so much of my own Son who was born in 87 and diagnosed in 1989. I remember the screaming at Costco and I still get looks from other parents even though he is an adult now. I wil never forget the jusgemental looks from others and the shaking of heads and whispers when he was younger and out in public and hearing on more than one occasion that he is a spoiled child.
Like you I will never ever forget the day he was diagnosed and the word Autism was said. It’s like a slow moving dream only it was real.
I have spent his whole life fighting for his rights to services and having to spend out of pocket for so many things because as you said Autism is not covered by insurance.
I took part in NAA’s action today and even though a previous poster said it would do no good I feel no good will ever come by doing nothing.
Thank you for your heartfelt broadcast. Also the pizza story was wonderful and that is something very positive and it’s just the kind of thing that us parents don’t take for granted. Every small step is a huge victory for not only us but especially our child.
Thanks Coy. I participated in the campaign. I hope we reached someone.
My oldest son, 4 yrs, has PDD-NOS, a form of autism. Both my husband and I participated in the NAA How Much Longer Campaign. I truly hope it is a success. We have worked so very hard to help our son and he is almost at recovery. He has imaginative play, he greets and plays with friends and he attends a special ed preschool. I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished without the help of mainstream medicine. But it saddens me when I speak to doctors that think we are crazy for using the GFCF diet and for giving him vitamins and minerals, when we eat organic foods and buy organic products. We are considered kooks, but how kooky is it to laden our children’s foods with unproven chemicals just because the FDA takes the producing company’s word for the safety of their product. I really hope some people start to change their minds and look around them. I firmly believe change will only come from a mass grass-roots movement. We can not and will not continue to accept status quo for our children.
Thanks Coy, keep up the good fight.
Maryann
I really don’t know what it would take for the government to take a look at what is happening. This is madness and willful ignorance. Children are being neglected and tested like guinea pigs for vaccines and they shut out your ability to sue because they know they are WRONG. The statue of limitations is 7 years, why 3 years for suing for causing autism. As you can see, we can’t trust our government. They have done a great injustice to our babies for they own selfish greed and profit.
Your lucky to have a child with an imagination. For 7 out of 9 years we have fought, we are succeeding.
The government will never admit to anything because they can be held accoutable. They know vaccines have caused many issues such as death but its for the good of all. The good of all means neorologically killing our kids!
Obama has had many letters like yours. What is his response, read the HR 3200 and see where enrollment of special needs will be limited. Parentalrights.org start getting involved and come together because actually we all are yelling about the same thing just in a different way!