“In a perfect world, doctors know a lot about the science of treating asthma in children. But children with asthma live in the real world – where doctors can’t always control what they do or the circumstances of their lives.”

Dr. Michael Rich, director of Video Intervention/Prevention Assessment (VIA) at CMCH uses videotapes created by his patients to learn how their chronic illness is managed in real life.

“’What I do is hand a patient a video camcorder and say, teach me about asthma,’ Rich says. ‘I can tell them what the science says about asthma. What I cant tell them is what it does to them and their lives.’”

In a recent 100 page report, the Alliance for Childhood says that the educational value of computers for children is
an “untested premise.” The group has urged a comprehensive examination by the surgeon general on the “physical, emotional, and developmental
hazards computers may pose, and an immediate moratorium on their further introduction in early childhood and elementary education.”

Dr. Michael Rich
commented “It’s absolutely correct that there’s no substantive evaluation on whether computers are a good, bad, or neutral
thing in the classroom, but a moratorium is not feasible.”

He continued, “I worry about intruding on childhood with a machine that says, ‘there’s a right and wrong answer, and we’ll sit you down until we get the right answer.’”