Jenny McCarthy article on autism

[mowse]

CNN.com is doing several articles today focusing on autism. I was very impressed with Jenny McCarthy's article (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/mccarthy.autsimtreatment/index.html). She brings up valid points and because she's generally not considered a hollywood whackadoodle, maybe people will actually listen to what she has to say!

[sari]

Excellent timing! I was just discussing immunizations with my sister. I'm still undecided about what I'll do with regards to most of the immunizations recommended for children in Canada when it comes to my wee one. There is so much debate, and so much uncertainty on both sides of the argument. :confused:

[shannon]

Excellent timing! I was just discussing immunizations with my sister. I'm still undecided about what I'll do with regards to most of the immunizations recommended for children in Canada when it comes to my wee one. There is so much debate, and so much uncertainty on both sides of the argument. :confused:

I was just talking about this a bit at a conference I was at today (Autism Awareness Centre). It was a really easy decision for the kids' dad and me to make, given our cornucopia of auto-immune issues on both sides of the gene pool - anaphylaxis associated with an immunization, lupus, sarcoidosis, MS, excema, asthma... It just seemed for us that the risks associated with immunizing tiny people with that gene cocktail far outweighed the potential risks of contracting any of the preventable illnesses.

The VERY FIRST thought I had when J's PDD NOS diagnosis was confirmed was relief that we had made the choice we did. I know in my heart (yes, very scientific, I know) that my kids are likely in that subset that would experience vaccine injury. I'm still debating tetanus, mumps, and rubella, but I know that not having bombarded their systems when they were at their most vulnerable has given their neurological and immune systems the opportunity to mature enough that they will be less likely to have systemic reactions at puberty. I hope.

[mirage1]

She brings up valid points and because she's generally not considered a hollywood whackadoodle, maybe people will actually listen to what she has to say!Really, she's not considered a Hollywood whackadoodle? That's surprising.

I mean, I like her, but of anyone who COULD be considered a Hollywood whackadoodle, the star of Dirty Love and Witless Protection would probably be right up there.

[Tracy]

Really, she's not considered a Hollywood whackadoodle? That's surprising.

I mean, I like her, but of anyone who COULD be considered a Hollywood whackadoodle, the star of Dirty Love and Witless Protection would probably be right up there.

*LOL* Ya, I thought about that too! I remember her from WAAY back when she hosted some game show on MTV!

I think though that in recent years the more she has spoken out and written her parenting books, that the more people are seeing that she can "play" wackadoodle, but that she actually *is* a strong intelligent woman.

Tracy

[kellydog]

She brings up valid points and because she's generally not considered a hollywood whackadoodle, maybe people will actually listen to what she has to say!

I have listened to what she has to say. I disagree with her, but I have taken the time to listen. In fact, I spent some time yesterday visiting the tacanow website and viewing videos at recoveryvideos.com. I can respect her opinion and am glad her son seems to be doing so well. If it works for them, great! I personally know of two local families who's sons are the same age and 2 years ago were very, very similar. They weren't on the high functioning end, but in the moderate/severe range. One family chose to find a DAN! doctor, do GFCF, supplements, chelation...the whole nine yards...and have staunchly refused any therapy. No speech, no OT, nothing because they feel in their hearts that their son will be "cured". The other family does no biomed, just ST, OT, and Behavior Therapy. The second family's child will be going to an all-day general education Kindergarten next year and may not even need a paraprofessional. He has spontaneous speech and no behavior problems. He is still autistic, but is more in the mild range now. The other family is unfortunately not having the results they were so sure they would find. I know that both families love their sons and are trying to make the best choices to help them. My point is that every kid is so different, who knows what will help or what specifically caused it in the first place. I would hope that parents are simply presented with a balanced view of the treatment options available and able to pick and choose what might help their specific child the most instead of so much focus being placed on biomed alone.

[mowse]

Really, she's not considered a Hollywood whackadoodle? That's surprising.

I mean, I like her, but of anyone who COULD be considered a Hollywood whackadoodle, the star of Dirty Love and Witless Protection would probably be right up there.

well, she's quite normal compared to say...Tom Cruise

[Jill]

I have listened to what she has to say. I disagree with her, but I have taken the time to listen. In fact, I spent some time yesterday visiting the tacanow website and viewing videos at recoveryvideos.com. I can respect her opinion and am glad her son seems to be doing so well. If it works for them, great! I personally know of two local families who's sons are the same age and 2 years ago were very, very similar. They weren't on the high functioning end, but in the moderate/severe range. One family chose to find a DAN! doctor, do GFCF, supplements, chelation...the whole nine yards...and have staunchly refused any therapy. No speech, no OT, nothing because they feel in their hearts that their son will be "cured". The other family does no biomed, just ST, OT, and Behavior Therapy. The second family's child will be going to an all-day general education Kindergarten next year and may not even need a paraprofessional. He has spontaneous speech and no behavior problems. He is still autistic, but is more in the mild range now. The other family is unfortunately not having the results they were so sure they would find. I know that both families love their sons and are trying to make the best choices to help them. My point is that every kid is so different, who knows what will help or what specifically caused it in the first place. I would hope that parents are simply presented with a balanced view of the treatment options available and able to pick and choose what might help their specific child the most instead of so much focus being placed on biomed alone.
Yep, this is how I feel, too.
I don't know how much of our early journey I have shared over the years but when Drew was a baby and toddler he was like the poster child for classic autsim. He had no words, no facial expressions, no eye contact, and no interest at ALL in anything but moving parts of things. He rolled on the floor uncontrollably and head banged, flapped, took furniture and appliances and whatever he got his hands on apart (nuts and bolts obsession!), bit me, and screamed for hours every day at one point. I was willing to try ANYTHING to try to reach him, to try to keep him from slipping completely away from me. If back then someone were to come to me with a biomed plan that cost a million dollars I would have thrown a freaking fundraiser and bought the damned thing - I was that desperate for a "cure".

Well, instead, we were hooked up with an amazing team of therapists who ramped up his program and worked with him every single day in every way imagineable. Feeding specialists, OTs, PTs, STs, and MDs. Life became a complicated maze of appointments (and Em was also having the same therapies!) and I almost reached the point of giving up, when I started to notice improvement.
A few months later, it was like he woke up a different child. He had language! It had been there the whole time apparently, because he skipped right past the babble and the "me do it" stuff and went right into his first sentence : "MOM! T-E-G-R-A-T is Target spelled backwards!" I can't even explain the conflicted emotions I felt at that moment - I was sooooo thrilled that he was TALKING, but I was shocked by what he said, yk? LOL!
Anyway, that was the beginning of the next part of our journey, one that has been filled with so many ups and downs, mostly ups, with a child who is and will always be autistic, but who has learned SO MANY valuable ways to either work through or get around his issues, and yet will always have his struggles and quirks - and I am completely, one hundred percent certain that for MY child, the answer was intensive therapies, not biomeds.

I am very, very thrilled for Jenny and every other mother out there who has found their way to help their child, and even though it bugs me I'll even accept that she feels he's cured - :) I just don't like to see things presented as one size fits all, the wonder cure, when there is so much potential harm in doing so. Had I invested years into something that didn't help my son I would have been devastated, and I would have lost precious time in his development. I think instead of taking the one size approach, it would serve "the cause" better to provide balanced information with encouragement to try whatever feels right for your own family. That kind of support is what is lacking from my own experience - there is a lot of judgment in the autism world among families as to what the "right" way to handle it is and I just don't get it.

Why I just felt the need to spill Drew's early childhood I have no idea but I am going to leave it there because it makes me happy to read. :) I am feeling all mushy inside today because we had a great Montessori school meeting last night to help us make the grade school decision for him and I felt like a light was shining down on us telling us we were doing the right thing and I am bursting with excitement for his future.

[Jill]

Really, she's not considered a Hollywood whackadoodle? That's surprising.

I mean, I like her, but of anyone who COULD be considered a Hollywood whackadoodle, the star of Dirty Love and Witless Protection would probably be right up there.

And I can only picture her Playboy pictorial when I think of her LOLOL...how sad is THAT?

Nah, I do like her, and I like Jim, too - they are very adorable together I think. I just wish she'd use that wonderful gift she has of getting people to listen in a broader way, I think she would really help a lot more people!

[bumblebee]

I am very, very thrilled for Jenny and every other mother out there who has found their way to help their child, and even though it bugs me I'll even accept that she feels he's cured - I just don't like to see things presented as one size fits all, the wonder cure, when there is so much potential harm in doing so.Doesn't Jenny McCarthy say her son is "recovering," not that he's "cured"? Since learning that the semantics surrounding autism are important, I now understand why many parents with autistic children feel that focusing on a cure is inaccurate or even dangerous, but I don't see McCarthy herself using the word "cure"? She seems to reject the word altogether. I'm just asking because I read the article and thought she stressed recovery--or is the idea of "recovery" in and of itself problematic since it denotes that an autistic child is somehow injured or damaged?

Also, I am always amazed by your stories of Drew's progress. It is wonderful.

[Jill]

Doesn't Jenny McCarthy say her son is "recovering," not that he's "cured"? Since learning that the semantics surrounding autism are important, I now understand why many parents with autistic children feel that focusing on a cure is inaccurate or even dangerous, but I don't see McCarthy herself using the word "cure"? She seems to reject the word altogether. I'm just asking because I read the article and thought she stressed recovery--or is the idea of "recovery" in and of itself problematic since it denotes that an autistic child is somehow injured or damaged?

Also, I am always amazed by your stories of Drew's progress. It is wonderful.

you may be right that she didn't use "cured" in this article - I know she has in the past though. I think it's an automatic reaction for me to bristle when people refer to curing or recovering from autism because it's not an illness...but I don't like to argue semantics either. I think her son and my son differ though, because Drew was not vaccinated, he was not injured by chemicals - her son, she believes (and I don't argue it at ALL) WAS injured - and so now that I think of it I guess I do see why her focus is what it is.
Autism is a very broad spectrum and I believe that there are many, many causes and triggers - and I also believe that sometimes what looks like autism may in fact not be. I am not one to judge and in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter does it? As long as everyone who is affected gets the help and rosources they need to reach their potential I am a very happy woman. :)

I'm sorry for sounding nitpicky. I really don't want to be!

[mirage1]

Why I just felt the need to spill Drew's early childhood I have no idea but I am going to leave it there because it makes me happy to read. :) I am feeling all mushy inside today because we had a great Montessori school meeting last night to help us make the grade school decision for him and I felt like a light was shining down on us telling us we were doing the right thing and I am bursting with excitement for his future.It makes me feel happy to read, too, Jill! I know how much heartache you went through, and it's so cool to know how much the therapy and early intervention made a difference for your amazing little guy. :)

[mirage1]

And I can only picture her Playboy pictorial when I think of her LOLOL...how sad is THAT?

Nah, I do like her, and I like Jim, too - they are very adorable together I think. I just wish she'd use that wonderful gift she has of getting people to listen in a broader way, I think she would really help a lot more people!Yeah, me too, actually! XH had a subscription at that point and I honest-to-God used to read the things cover to cover. I kind of miss that magazine, ROFL, they seriously do have great articles. I always liked her though, she seemed like such a genuinely fun, human, interesting person.