Interactions

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Loaded Labels

As both a second-grade teacher and mother of two (who at one time or another have been assigned their own labels), I found "Gifted? Autistic? Or Just Quirky?" [Feb. 27] both interesting and timely. As the article points out, labels of psychiatric and neurological disorders are the topic of conversations between parents and educators alike. Allowing teachers more flexiblity in the classroom and getting away from the high-pressure testing environment would nurture the strengths of all children. Placing high expectations on the individual rather than the test scores raises work ethic. Children of all abilities learn better in a high-interest classroom where the focus is on process rather than performance.

Lori Steel

Kensington

Your article includes a misleading statement about my Web site. "Teens" are only one demographic on WrongPlanet.net, which has over 9,000 registered members of all ages and nationalities. It is geared toward individuals of all ages who have Asperger's or a child with autism. In fact, we have a sizable portion of visitors older than 20 and even a large number of individuals with Asperger's who are over 40.

Alex Plank

Co-founder

WrongPlanet.net

Fairfax

I feel compelled to register my anger and dismay. Let me tell you, as a parent, I am not in love with my son's label. And to assume that any parent "seeks" a diagnosis is ludicrous. We seek help for our children. As the mother of a 5-year-old son "labeled" PDD-NOS [Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified], I would truly rather be doing other things with my life, time and money than seeking labels. Articles like these paint us as hovering, spoiled parents who want a label so we can get insurance reimbursement, or because we are dissatisfied with our children's shortcomings. We already have enough trouble fighting the indifference and ignorance toward autism in the medical community without articles like this.

Julie Davisson

Falls Church

As I said to Maia Szalavitz [when she interviewed me for her story], it's not labels that are problematic, it's their baggage. Our society adopts the medical model of disability: something "broken" that prevents the individual from accomplishing goals the "normal" way. We don't deal very well with whatever we can't fix.

A better approach is the social model of disability, which distinguishes between impairment, the thing that's broken, and handicap, the inability to accomplish goals. This model urges us to find alternative ways of accomplishing the goals,to fix what we can both in the individual and in society.

Phil Schwarz

Framingham, Mass.

Drug Interactions

"A Dangerous Mix" [Feb. 27] did a good job of alerting consumers that the information on the Internet varies in quality. No Web site can take the place of professional judgment. It is impossible for a computer algorithm on a Web site to adequately evaluate risks and equally impossible for a layperson to accurately interpret the information they receive from the Internet. Too many factors need to be considered, like the complex interplay of prescription and nonprescription drugs, chronic and acute diseases, age and gender.

John Tilley, RPh

President

National Community Pharmacists

Association

Laguna Niguel, Calif.

The differences in the databases that assess potentially dangerous drug interactions were interesting. As a registered nurse who manages an HIV/AIDS program, I am careful to teach medication use and safety to my patients.

As you stated, it can be tricky for nonprofessionals to use many of these sites because they lack the pharmacological education that doctors and RNs have. So, as I and my colleagues teach, always take a list of your current medications with you any time you go to the doctor or dentist.

Judith Levine, RN

Gaithersburg

Accentuate the Negative

Eve Zibart's thorough and informative article ["Negative Reinforcement," Feb. 20] on SuperSlow weight training was great. But in the third paragraph, she writes that "the exhale move, the release, the return" can be used to produce benefits quickly. I think you meant to write that this is the inhale move, because when you are lifting a weight (positive action; concentric muscle action) you should be exhaling to reduce the pressure in the chest area so as not to put pressure on the blood vessels in that area. Positive-exhale. Negative-inhale.

Stan Dorrow

Director

Maryland Center for Dental Wellness

Bethesda

Eve Zibart replies: "Dr. Dorrow is absolutely right. In weight training, you do indeed exhale on the muscle contraction and inhale on the release. In fact, thoughtful, gradual inhaling will remind you to keep your abs and glutes tight, your back straight and your knees slightly bent, if standing." In Pilates, however, the rule is reversed. Sorry for the slip!

In Defense of Barbie

In my experience, Barbie dolls offer wonderful opportunities for young girls to engage in imaginative play ["The Barbie Body," Feb. 20] -- something many in this generation are either not encouraged, or are too overscheduled, to do. Indeed, preoccupation with body image and dieting often -- albeit not exclusively -- comes from the real adult role models in a girl's life. Young girls would be better served if we downplayed our own struggles with dieting, emphasized a well-rounded, healthy lifestyle and eased up on criticizing how others look.

Bridget Littlefield

Ellicott City