In treating children with autism, physicians should reframe the common dynamic in which the family wants medication that the doctor is withholding to focus instead on the family’s and physician’s share goal—the patient’s well-being.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(4):299-304. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.4.ecas1-1504.
Dr Katherine Pumphrey joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Jessica Hart: “What the COVID-19 Pandemic Teaches Us About Pediatric Iatrogenic Risk.”
Isabelle M. Mikell joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Courtney L. Savage Hoggard and Dr Harald Schmidt: "What Should Be Roles of Federal Clinician Governors in Motivating Equity in Locally Coordinated Triage Protocols?"
Dr Evan Anderson joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Professor Scott Burris: “Which Skills Are Key to Public Health Leaders’ Success in Crisis Management?”
A bioethicist argues that children with Down syndrome should not be subjected to cosmetic surgery to change their appearance unless they are at the age and have the capacity to make the decision for themselves.
The neurodiversity movement challenges us to rethink autism through the lens of human diversity, valuing diversity in neurobiologic development as we would value it in gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.
A judicious approach to autism would be to replace a “disability” or “illness” paradigm with a “diversity” perspective that takes into account both strengths and weaknesses and the idea that variation can be positive in and of itself.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(4):348-352. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.4.msoc1-1504.