Autism In The News
April 3 ,2008
Jenny McCarthy is on a crusade to help parents with autistic children. She's even recruited her new beau Jim Carrey. Recently, Jenny has been all over the talk show circuit; timed to coincide with the first World Autism Awareness Day. Her young son Evan has been diagnosed with autism and she's claimed to have cured him. I've watched several of Jenny's interviews and she does indeed use the word "cure" and the word "fix" when referring to her son's autism. I must say that Jenny's repeated use of these words doesn't sit very well with me. I wish she would use the term recovery instead. I know what she means to portray but I feel it comes off the wrong way especially to people dealing with everyday autism struggles. Jenny has managed to control some of her son's behaviors with ABA therapy and a special diet to control food allergies so his symptoms have subsided. The real truth is that Evan will always be autistic. Autism is not cancer. It can't be cured and people with autism don't need to be fixed. The word cure is misleading and the word fix is insulting. Autism exists for a person's lifetime and the best we can do is help the autistic person develop skills to cope and manage in the world. If the medical community developed a pill to cure autism and I gave it to my autistic son then I imagine he would become a totally different person wouldn't he? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for Evan, Jenny and Jim but I think her miracle claims of a cure are doing the autistic community a major disservice. Should we all be searching for a miraculous combination of therapies and services in order to cure our loved ones of autism? What if we don't succeed? Are we all not doing the best that we can with our limited resources? Evan is one lucky boy. Jenny is a very devoted mother but she needs to act responsibly and edit herself if she's putting herself out there as an autism advocate.
April 3 ,2008
Jenny McCarthy is on a crusade to help parents with autistic children. She's even recruited her new beau Jim Carrey. Recently, Jenny has been all over the talk show circuit; timed to coincide with the first World Autism Awareness Day. Her young son Evan has been diagnosed with autism and she's claimed to have cured him. I've watched several of Jenny's interviews and she does indeed use the word "cure" and the word "fix" when referring to her son's autism. I must say that Jenny's repeated use of these words doesn't sit very well with me. I wish she would use the term recovery instead. I know what she means to portray but I feel it comes off the wrong way especially to people dealing with everyday autism struggles. Jenny has managed to control some of her son's behaviors with ABA therapy and a special diet to control food allergies so his symptoms have subsided. The real truth is that Evan will always be autistic. Autism is not cancer. It can't be cured and people with autism don't need to be fixed. The word cure is misleading and the word fix is insulting. Autism exists for a person's lifetime and the best we can do is help the autistic person develop skills to cope and manage in the world. If the medical community developed a pill to cure autism and I gave it to my autistic son then I imagine he would become a totally different person wouldn't he? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for Evan, Jenny and Jim but I think her miracle claims of a cure are doing the autistic community a major disservice. Should we all be searching for a miraculous combination of therapies and services in order to cure our loved ones of autism? What if we don't succeed? Are we all not doing the best that we can with our limited resources? Evan is one lucky boy. Jenny is a very devoted mother but she needs to act responsibly and edit herself if she's putting herself out there as an autism advocate.
Above is a recent picture taken at the movie premiere of Horton Hears A Who with Evan, Jim, Jenny and Jim's daughter Jane
See recent news on Evan, Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey below.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/mccarthy.autsimtreatment/?iref=hpmostpop#cnnSTCVideo
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/mccarthy.autsimtreatment/?iref=hpmostpop
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3 comments:
Jenny never has used the word "cure" to descibe what happened to her son. She uses recovered.
I too have 1 recovered child and one that is 1000 times better than where he started. He started at a place where he was so frustrated that he repeatedly slammed him head through the wall of his bedrrom, the driveway and his personal favorite, the door frame.
As a mother I could not stand by and accept that this was just who my child was. I had to do everything in my power to ensure that he be given every chance to develop relationships and live as independently as possible.
Please don't look upon the biomedical treatment community with anything but respect because we too are parents that accept who are kids are but want to help them be able to reach their potential.
Although Jenny has done a great job bringing autism to the forefront beyond a "Rainman" mentality, she's just a person who I might not always agree with but I respect that she is a mom with her son's best interests at heart.
Good luck to you!
Melanie
My wife and I refused the traditional vaccine schedule for our son at a facility in Rio Rancho, NM. We were immediately told that we could not continue to come to that specific office for our sons medical treatment. I thought it was a joke at first, but Dr. G was not kidding. We left in disbelief.
I would like to commend Jenny on her work on behalf of children all over the world. We own a National business and would like to donate to this cause on behalf of Jenny. If anyone knows how we can donate a portion of our proceeds on behalf of Jenny McCarthy, please contact me. I would like to work through Jenny and Jim to make a difference.
Michael Buffington-CEO/Founder
BusinessWiseBPO.com
Michael@businesswisebpo.com
Hi,
I have a son who has autistic traits as well. I do not believe that autism is a life time issue. Everyone has a right to believe what they want . If your child is cured and has no trace of autism then he is no more autistic.I believe in miracles and children or adults can be miraculously cured either by hardwork from the parent/parents/school or through prayer. I agree with Jenny that her son has been cured. This also goes for the author of SON RISE. His son's miraculous recovery.
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