Russell Williams
Well-Known Member
Daily Activism Part 1 -- December 28, 2006
My 350 pound autistic daughter is in an assisted living community. Those in charge decided that she needs to be thinner and have put her on a 1800 calorie a day diet. It bothers them that for some reason at every opportunity she seems to try to get ahold of food. I have pointed out that diets do not work except to make people fatter but I know that what I am saying is falling on deaf ears. I have decided to take a different approach. Last night when I was there I was asking them what exercise program they have my daughter on. I pointed out that there is evidence suggesting that fat well exercised people do better than thin poorly exercised people. I offered to provide them with lots of studies showing that exercise is good for people. I kept pushing them about their exercise program and they kept telling me that it is difficult to get her to exercise. I kept pointing out to them that if they put as much effort into making her exercise as they do in trying to keep her away from food they would get more exercise out of her. I plan to keep pushing along this line.
Her caretakers stated that a doctor wrote an order saying that she has to be thinner. I told them that if a doctor's note is what it takes I'm sure they can get a doctors note saying she should exercise and then it becomes a medical instruction for them to follow.
It is interesting to see how medical certainties become less certain over time. I believe I still have a psychology book in the basement which talks about how to treat the mental illness of homosexuality and a recent Scientific American mentions how 150 years ago doctors had discovered a mental aberration in slaves. This mental aberration caused them to try to escape from their legal Masters. I wonder how long it will be before the whole current focus on dieting is considered a bizarre chapter of American medical history.
My 350 pound autistic daughter is in an assisted living community. Those in charge decided that she needs to be thinner and have put her on a 1800 calorie a day diet. It bothers them that for some reason at every opportunity she seems to try to get ahold of food. I have pointed out that diets do not work except to make people fatter but I know that what I am saying is falling on deaf ears. I have decided to take a different approach. Last night when I was there I was asking them what exercise program they have my daughter on. I pointed out that there is evidence suggesting that fat well exercised people do better than thin poorly exercised people. I offered to provide them with lots of studies showing that exercise is good for people. I kept pushing them about their exercise program and they kept telling me that it is difficult to get her to exercise. I kept pointing out to them that if they put as much effort into making her exercise as they do in trying to keep her away from food they would get more exercise out of her. I plan to keep pushing along this line.
Her caretakers stated that a doctor wrote an order saying that she has to be thinner. I told them that if a doctor's note is what it takes I'm sure they can get a doctors note saying she should exercise and then it becomes a medical instruction for them to follow.
It is interesting to see how medical certainties become less certain over time. I believe I still have a psychology book in the basement which talks about how to treat the mental illness of homosexuality and a recent Scientific American mentions how 150 years ago doctors had discovered a mental aberration in slaves. This mental aberration caused them to try to escape from their legal Masters. I wonder how long it will be before the whole current focus on dieting is considered a bizarre chapter of American medical history.
