Jenny McCarthy is a nutcase (autism rant)

**MomToTwoBoys** · 10-02-2008, 06:00 PM

She's got to be the biggest nutcase I've seen in a long time.

"My child has recovered"

I didn't even bother watching the most recent interview of her speaking about her son's "recovery" because alot of what I've seen come out of her mouth in the past just astounds me. Does she even realize that autism is not something that just goes away? It's not like it's getting the flu and recovering from it. You can't recover from autism.

Coming from a parent of an autistic child with echolalia, hyperthyroidism and other associated diagnoses, she just utterly ticks me off.

Not every child can experience the same positive results that her "therapy" has done for her son. Not every parent can afford the type of therapy that she's been able to give to her son, some of it being highly disregarded by the medical community. However, we do what we can to help our children with what God has blessed them with. God makes everyone special and this is our thing. As painful as it is sometimes, as frustrating as it is all the time, it's something we embrace in our child as making them unique.

I'm just utterly disappointed and disgusted that she's all of the sudden saying that her child has "recovered" from something that there is no known cause of and has no known cure. Am I jealous that her son has progressively improved? Nope. I'm just annoyed that she's somehow taking a "holier than thou and my money bought what you cannot buy for your child" attitude to this disability.

**McD** · 10-02-2008, 07:04 PM

I can't say that I know what you are going through but it is really irritating me that my mil is using Jenny McCarthy's opinions on vaccines as reasons why I shouldn't vaccinate Wesley.

Have you seen the whole Jenny McCarthy vs. Amanda Peet deal? It is over the vaccination/autism thing.

**Parksfamily5** · 10-02-2008, 07:13 PM

I can not really comment as I have no personal experience with this. Everything that I have read is that the symptoms can improve with special therapies but I have never heard of it just going away.
I am not convinced on the vaccination thing. At first they said it was Mercury in the vaccines that caused it but that is no longer in vaccines.

**sixfreds** · 10-02-2008, 07:49 PM

I want to say this as a parent of a child who has a form of autism, you can't "sure" autism you can improve of of the behaviors and the condition can improve. BUT it's not a cure, so I think she used the wrong word. I give my some drops called mind soothe jr and it makes a huge difference in how he acts and reacts to things but it isn't a cure it is just a tool that works for us.

I think she is a bit on the nutty side I have seen interviews with her about autism and she is just a nut case if you ask me.

I think there are many causes for autism, I can tell you my son who has a form (he is a triplet) had a brain bleed as an infant so I am pretty sure that is his cause. Can vaccines cause autism, they could in some but I think if my sons autism was caused by a vaccine then he would have a brother and sister also with autism since all 2 had the same vaccine from the same lot.. BUT I think it might react in some kids poorly and cause an issue.
There are many other thinsg that can cause it BUT there is NO CURE for autism.

Eileen

**Megareader** · 10-02-2008, 08:11 PM

Ummm....who is Jenny McCarthy?

**Michelle** · 10-02-2008, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by Megareader

Ummm....who is Jenny McCarthy?

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_mccarthy[/ame]

Currently dating Jim Carey.

**zakity** · 10-02-2008, 08:25 PM

I don't know much about that lady or her child, but an aquaintence of mine put her "on spectrum" child a GFCF diet. The child is not longer testing "on spectrum". That worked for that child, but that doesn't mean it will work for the next one.

**my4littlebuffaloes** · 10-02-2008, 08:42 PM

to me, it means that her son didn't really have autism but some other sort of delay that he has overcome. He must have been misdiagnosed. You don't cure autism, you just learn to manage the behaviors.

**sixfreds** · 10-02-2008, 09:25 PM

I do know people that the GFCF diet works for.. I think it is great I think you should try all options and find what works for your child.
I think she misued the word cured, you can't cure something like autism you manage it and yes that gfcf diet manages the symptons of autism in some kids...

Eileen

**fernykins** · 10-02-2008, 09:31 PM

I think and its just my opion some people need something to blame instead of excepting the fact that their child has a problem and no one or nothing is to blame. Things happen. I have one dgs who is autisic and one that has downs. They both want to know what they did wrong. A special needs child is a gift.
Fern

**justatxmom** · 10-03-2008, 09:03 AM

Food allergies manifest themselves in nontraditional ways... hence GFCF diets being successful in treating autistic like symptoms.

For my oldest, who would also be on the spectrum too if we hadn't changed his diet, is triggered by petro in food additives, perservatives, and coloring.

If the medical community would actually acknowledge that foods play a huge role in children's behavior instead of pumping children full of meds that contain the very thing that is triggering the "allergic" reaction to begin with, I think you would see a lot of the various behavioural, social, and emotional issues disappear.

That being said I haven't really kept up with Jenny M. as of late. However, I am glad that she is bringing autism into the public light. It has opened doors to allow me to explain the poisoning our children are victim to because of corporate greed.

**Jayne** · 10-03-2008, 09:24 AM

I personally feel that autism is being over diagnosed....I grew up with a truely autistic neighbor and his behaviors made this quite obvious...I see children these days who are labeled autistic, and they act like perfectly normal kids...Remember the drug companies are making big profits off of giving these kids pills, so are they all truely autistic?

**elphie** · 10-03-2008, 09:51 AM

I watched the interview and I have to say, she is not a nutcase. She stated that she understands vaccines are important but that they need to be safer. She compared it to penecillan which is a wonder drug for most of the world but for a small percentage of the population it can be deadly. She also stated that not all children will respond to the therapies that have worked with her son but that they are an option to explore. Many medications and traditional therapies don't work for everyone, that doesn't mean they aren't valid treatment. She is also not the only person who believes that, although there is no cure, a person can recover from autism. Much as you can't cure diabetes but a person can recover and manage the symptoms through diet. The best example of this is the memoir Send In the Idiots written by a man who recovered from autism. Look Me In the Eye is also a great example of someone who was able to overcome many of his autistic symptoms. I have worked with chilren with autism and have some of the special kids in my family. I know that recovery is possible for some kids and out of grasp for others. I believe that every option should be known and available to parents so they can at least make a choice about what to try.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 10-03-2008, 10:35 AM

We have our son on not so much a GFCF diet, but we have greatly reduced some of the trigger foods for him. One of those foods is dairy. We simply substitute soy for dairy and his behavior has drastically improved. We also noticed that a few things worked for him:

1) Wearing a weighted vest - it's basically a vest with sand inside of it and it weighs about 40 lbs. It's enough to calm him down when he's being overstimulated.

2) Wearing headphones - his sensitivity to sound goes off the charts sometimes, so the headphones help out alot. We noticed that as soon as he starts flickering his fingers at his ears and closing them while screaming, the headphones go on and they help quite a bit. He even does this when he's eating too (because he can hear the sound of his mouth chewing the food and that irritates him a bit).

3) A brushing program - We use a small brush (similar to what you'd use to brush the hair off of an animal like a guinea pig) where the bristles are bendable and have just enough hardness to make a difference when it's being brushed across his skin. It was something that the school's occupational therapist suggested and he has since started refusing the program, so that was a big improvement for him.

4) Chewing gum - this is a most recent one that they're trying out in his communication and behavioral program at school. They give him chewing gum when he's doing an activity and when he's done with the activity, he spits it out with no problem. They said that it has curbed his screaming by a significant amount to the point where he's not screaming anymore. This = big plus for us at home.

5) Giving him a reward activity after he's done with at least three assigned activities - this has helped Matthew out quite a bit in terms of getting him to focus. He's a very hyperactive child and wants to get up and run around when he needs to work on his schoolwork. They give him a laminated strip that has four velcro slots on it: three velcro slots are for the activities he needs to do and one is for his reward. They let him pick out the reward picture and it gives him the initiative to do the three assignments they give him that he can't pick out on his own.

We have other therapies for him and we try to spend alot of time with him at home. He seems to be the best when you focus alot of time and energy on him and we're still working on getting him to play with his brother to the point where they aren't beating each other up.

I haven't seen the Amanda Peet vs Jenny McCarthy thing but I'll have to check that out.

Matthew was born and given the vaccines back before they supposedly stopped putting that preservative in the medicine, which was in 1998. He started showing the signs right away and it wasn't like most kids with autism whom progress normally and then after 18 months, they regress. He was showing signs at around the six month mark. Now, we don't know if it's a genetic thing with him because his father is not in the picture anymore and it's $400 here to get the test done. What we do know is that certain neurons in the brain aren't firing to their receptors and that's what's causing alot of the gaps in an autistic child's mind.

I do believe that part of it is environmental, part of it is the vaccinations. I ate alot of crab while pregnant with him and this was before I was told that the mercury in certain types of seafood can attribute to developmental disabilities like autism.

I just wish Jenny McCarthy would stop misleading alot of parents with her speeches about "recovery" for her son.

**hwmabire3** · 10-03-2008, 11:17 AM

I saw Jenny McCarthy's interview on Oprah. I remember her specifically saying something along the lines of "This is what works for us, you need to find what works for you." She said that not every child would respond to a GFCF diet. All she did was encourage mothers to try things to find what works for their child. And, she was very careful not to say that her son was cured, she said he was "recovered."

I don't think she's a nutcase at all. I think she is just a mother who is very passionate about Autism and she wants to share what worked for her and her family instead of keeping the information all to herself.