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7 Media and Public Perceptions and Misperceptions of Children with Disabilities
Pages 61-70

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From page 61...
... As moderator Donald Wertlieb of the American Orthopsychiatric Association and Tufts University observed, the notion of disability has been changing in recent decades from the property of an individual to a property of the social, emotional, and physical environment. The media have helped and can continue to help shape skills, knowledge, and attitudes that reflect this new understanding of disability.
From page 62...
... In that respect, said Costello, Internet contact proved to be "more intimate than, say, watching a television show about people." Costello also pointed to the excellent care that she and her son received at a community mental health center. "These psychiatrists knew exactly what you were saying.
From page 63...
... Another important event was the broadening of diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which had the effect of more people receiving a diagnosis. At the same time, clinical instruments for screening for autism became available, and the mistaken idea that vaccines cause autism was circulated in the media.
From page 64...
... . He was attending an overnight school outing in western Massachusetts to learn about farming, and Lanzoni had to attend the outing as well to test his blood sugar at various intervals, assess his activity levels, count his carbohydrates before meals, set his infusion pump, and monitor him at night.
From page 65...
... APPEALING TO EMOTION AT THE AD COUNCIL The mission of the Ad Council is to identify a select number of significant public issues and stimulate action on those issues through communications programs that make a measureable difference in society, said Tony Foleno, senior vice president for research at the Ad Council. Since the 1950s, it has done work on forest fires, polio, pollution, discrimination, drunk driving, crime, seat belts, AIDS, domestic violence, recycling, texting and driving, bullying, and, since 2008, autism.
From page 66...
... Directed toward parents, they emphasize early interventions for young children. The first and oldest ad spot was accompanied by photographs of the singer Toni Braxton (Ad Council, 2008)
From page 67...
... The Ad Council relies on donated media -- each campaign gets about $30 million across media platforms per year in media donations -- and is currently near capacity for the campaigns it can produce. "The media community is not set up to do public service; they're set up to make money, and the competition for time and space is tremendous," he said.
From page 68...
... . Because of the fear that these perceptions have created, there has been an enormous focus on putting money toward a cure, instead of modifying the environment as much as it could be modified for existing people who are autistic." Since her son was diagnosed and she became deeply involved in the autism community, Willingham has noticed a distinct change in attitudes toward autism.
From page 69...
... For many people with autism, the word ‘autistic' is a badge of pride," he said. Similarly, Foleno pointed to the work on addiction done by the Ad Council, where organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous emphasize the need to acknowledge that someone is an alcoholic first and everything else follows.
From page 70...
... Some disorders are more familiar, such as depression or anxiety, but most people are going to have a mental health issue at some point in their lives, she said. "As with other medical illnesses, psychiatric illness is a nearly universal experience." Silberman added that most people will be disabled at some point in their lives, with the extent of their disability changing over time.


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