Us Magazine is running this headline:
Jenny McCarthy: My Son No Longer Has Autism
Yes, that’s right, she “cured” him. With some manner of wheat-free diet.
And she’s in a position to make national news of this.
Every pediatric medical association in the country is going bonkers right now.
Good thing she is beautiful because she has shit for brains.
Did she actually give an interview to US or did they make this up?
My son has a learning disability and a gluten free diet in combination with increased omega 3 intake does actually help some of his issues but it’s certainly not a “cure.”
She kept correcting Oprah a couple weeks back too. Oprah would say “And your son with autism” and Jenny McBoob would say “who HAD autism”. It pissed me off.
Interesting…
I wish she would shut her mouth. I’ve worked in autism for the past four years, the link to vaccinations is highly suspect, and I feel it is strongly linked to genetics. While there are many therapies to help reduce the effects (many of which her son has been receiving), they will not cure someone will autism.
:(
Ugh, it should be a crime to be as stupid as she is.
Good for her. It was only today on a reputable news network that a doctor came on to talk about children and clinical trials–something about the way the health industry just takes adult solutions to adult health problems and just descales the treatment to treat kids—knowing full well that children are not just miniature adults and more research needs to go into researching and creating appropriate products aimed just for tikes. As we’ve seen with all those children pain relievers—-there’s always room for the possibility that what is widely accepted as effective can be deemed ineffective. As to autism—-the only way “cures” are created–or solutions and treatments–is if people aren’t complacent in what science says. I don’t think her son is cured but if this puts more light on the problem—whatever. It’s only scrutiny and “propaganda” that leads to more innovative and up to date knowledge. The other side if just wals and fundraisers that do nothing but feed the beast.
As the mother of an Aspie, I accept my son for who he is. I’ll do anything and everything to help make this world a more comfortable place for him but the Asperger’s IS part of his makeup. Most people don’t know he’s on the spectrum but I’d still never say he’s cured. Cured of what?
*walks
If herbal remedies don’t work, why are they contraindicated?
Hate to say it, but who cares?
she looks better with her longer.
This pisses me off.
You should care “me”. Because you could one day have a child or know someone who has a child with autism. That child will grow up and become an adult…an adult that needs constant supervision if we don’t find ways to communicate and redirect thought process so that they can have a functioning and fulfilling life. And beyond that…you should “care” just because it’s a nice human thing to do.
Sheesh.
She is such a joke. I actually liked her back in the day on Singled Out … but now and this whole austism stunt. First she blames it on vaccinations, which is complete bs… countless doctors, pediatricians, and Autism experts/researchers have totally disproved that claim. Hmmm actual doctors and medical professionals or retired MTV party girl??
My cousin has autism and I can sympathize with the situation but lets not go over the top here
I’m not so sure I give into that. I have Celiac Disease, which is an allergy to wheat and gluten (yes, that’s right…I can’t eat traditional breads, pastas, baked goods) and there has been a lot of research about the effects of a wheat and gluten free diet on autistic children. Nothing conclusive, and most of the positive findings have dealt with the issues of behavior control.
I’m not sure that her child is necessarily “cured” of Autism, but perhaps he is well managed and taken care of and functioning at an extremely high level (as many other autistic people have) and all of that was in combination with the diet and whatever type of therapy he was going through.
@ ribbet
Very true, I’ve also read that dietary changes can also help with a lot of other problems. Like ADHD, Depression, ADD, anxiety, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer, and numerous others. And I also believe that a lot of these are also genetic, but I could be wrong.
I think it’s sad that jenny could even say that her son has been cured of something that is so strongly linked to genetics.
I also think that autistic people can still live a normal happy life, depending on the severity of it. I also know that some adults have been diagnosed with Autism, after living their entire life as a “normal person with strange habits”.
She does a HUGE dis-service to everyone involved in Autism research, works with autism or has children with autism. Autism does have a genetic basis on Chromosome 15 (they found a gene on there that is a marker); so, having autism is no different than having blond hair or blue eyes. Will she say she cured her son of his hair colour if she died it a different colour? Probably, because she is such a stupid……….. BTW, I am a mother to 2 children on the autism spectrum with other co-morbid issues and I work my butt off to make their lives the best they can be.
I think people who have children in their lives that are autistic care.
For her to claim that its a cure is bullsh*t. Dietary changes, environmental changes etc do not CURE it. She needs to shut up.
Not all cases of Autism are the SAME like she blindly thinks it to be.
and what is up with her always claiming that she cured her son? its like she hates the fact that he has it and she is on some quest to rid of it instead of embracing him for who he is.
She’s found a way to help her son live a better life. Whether it’s through a gluten-free diet or a placebo effect, more power to her and good luck to her little boy. Whether she’s right or wrong, why on earth pile on her with criticism?
@ JR
Because making a statement like she has gives people false information.
People with incorrect information can make very harmful decisions based on incorrect information, and non fact.
A lot of people will stop what could be very helpful therapy and other methods of dealing with Autism and will use her cure.
Yes she has found something that works for her and her child, but it’s not a cure.
…no one else has noticed that the boy is grabbing a handfull of mama’s titty in the second photo…?
I implemented a recent dietary change and “cured” my hunger with a pizza. I’ll be talking about it on Larry King Live next week.
You can’t ‘cure’ autism. You can treat the disease and lessen the affects so that they are no longer within the spectrum that classifies someone as having autism but the disease is still there and if you stop treating it will come back full force. Gah.
What a dumb cunt.
What she probably means is that her son was retested and scored ‘no autism’ on the test. ‘No autism’ simply means that the child showed no autistic behaviours on that test. It also means the test showed that he is intellectually equivalent to typical children of his age.
I personally don’t think this means that he is cured. I think he will always have autism….it’s the severity of his autism that has changed.
I think the problem some of us have is her use of the word “cure”, as if she’s Jonas Salk.
It’s a miracle Down Unda! Praise Jesus.
What toppings did you have on there?
Thank you Julia.
as i see it, we don’t even need to argue about whether a cure is possible through dietary changes – we just have to think about the meaning of the word “cure”. if a regimen has to be followed continuously, even if it completely eliminates every symptom, it is a treatment, not a cure. a very effective treatment, perhaps, but a treatment nonetheless. a cure does not need to be continued after the problem is solved. if this boy can go back to a normal diet, receiving no treatment, and have no symptoms of autism, then and only then is he cured. as long as he still has to be treated, that is what he is – treated. not cured.
I’m a Ph.D candidate in Child Pathology so far there is NO cure for autism.
God, as a neurologist and neuropathologist, this is completely disturbing. Multi-centre trials done in the past 10 years in Europe show (when vaccines with different additives are used, or when vaccines are not given in the same schedule) that there is no link between vaccination and autism. Also, as someone whose family originiated in a developing country, does she not realize how many children died or were disabled as a result of all these communicable diseases we are now vaccinating against? how nice for here that because the surrounding parents will be responsible, her unvaccinated children won’t be exposed. As well, in numerous countries, including ithose in North America and Europe, the total number of diagnoses of developmental disorders has not changed, but there is a rise in the specific label of “autism-spectrum disorders”, showing simply that the diagnosis has become more popular in the medical profession. Jenny McCarthy has said that her pediatricians and neurologists have all told her that her child was misdiagnosed, but apparently her expertise has led her to disbelieve them. How ridiculous! I am glad her son is better; it must have been very upsetting to get that MISDIAGNOSIS of a very real disease.
ps – apparently she talks a lot about the guilt she feels about her son’s diagnosis – The tenuous link with vaccination seems to have arisen from the fact that autistic children pass normal milestones until language and social interaction skills start to develop (i.e. the age when they are first vaccinated) and some parents (obviously not all or even most who of course are doing everything they can to help their children) look for something to blame
Bull
Shit.
Believe me, I know.
I am just being honest in saying that I don’t care.
Bee Hind, well said. When my youngest son got his 18 month shot, Measles/Mumps/Rubella ,he ended up GETTING the measles and from that moment on our lives changed. The light went out in his eyes. That was 10 years ago. It has taken 10 years of therapy and lots of patience and love and that light shines again. But, he will always have autism.
i think, as horrible as the illness is, that conclusion proves the point
it’s easier to believe that something other than you (vaccinations)contributed to any challenge your child may have to face. accepting the fact that the combination of you and your spouse’s d.n.a. not only gave your child wonderful characteristics but limitations also is extremely difficult to accept.
it is very tempting to look to outside sources to blame because you just have all of this guilt inside that you can’t make go away. you so desperately want your child to be happy and well adjusted. you will do anything and everything to make sure that child has a fair shot in life because they are starting out so far behind the “normal” curve.
the idea of some elusive yet possible cure for what is hurting your baby is so compelling. however, falsely claiming a cure is irresponsible.
@kayceda: just to clarify, my statements were not directed at yours. i had not seen what you had written prior to submitting mine. i’m writing from my own experiences and would not presume to judge yours. blessings.
MMR vaccines have an attenuated (not real measles but less harmful strain) vaccine so it is difficult to see how someone could actually get measles. Also literally many thousands of children with and without vaccines have been compared (in Sweden,Canada, Denmark, Japan, the EU, the U.s (Minnesota) and no link has been found. Again, it IS tempting to blame something, especially when the timing is co-incident, but there is no scientific evidence to back this.
HR you have hit the nail on the head. Autism is the popular diagnosis of the moment to hang on any child with behavior issues, just as Attention Deficit Disorder used to be (and probably still is) massively misdiagnosed. There is no clear cut, objective diagnostic criteria for Autism except in the most extreme instances. As a professional who worked directly with children and their physicians and psychiatrists, I have observed first hand the horrifying truth that there are popular diagnosis and treatments that are diagnosed and prescribed quite cavalierly by doctors. Incredibly, some teachers also feel very free to “diagnose” autism.
I can certainly understand why Jenny felt guilt about her child’s diagnosis. The cause of autism used to be laid quite straight forwardly on mothers for being emotionally cold and rejecting. This line of thinking has been completely discredited, but there will always be a few incompetent professionals who are willing to take the easy way out.
This isn’t a subject that I am up to date with professionally, but it seems to me that young boys are disproportionately misdiagnosed with autism. I suspect that this trend is due in part to the increasing academization of the public school system and preschool care providers. Children are being deprived of their very real developmental need to explore the world through unstructured, open ended, imaginative play. Boys mature later than girls, and it is especially difficult for them to cope with the situation. Children are increasingly home-bound during what free time they do have, and again, boys fare worse when deprived of the opportunity for active, open ended play outside.
Y’all are missing the point, and contributing to the problem by engaging this as if “curing” “autism” were the subject. Her son has a problem that is now being managed, by whatever means, so well that she feels it isn’t affecting his life. I’m happy for both of them. Anyone who isn’t is at least half Orc.
And people who make decisions about their kids’ vaccinations, autism treatments, or ANYTHING ELSE on the basis of what C list celebs say? Are too stupid to live. The only thing stupider would be for C list celebs to live their lives as if every half-wit with an internet connection considered them role models.
sadly, they do make decisions based on what Oprah says, and she has been on Oprah a few time. Then patients, understandably, come in and don’t want to vaccinate their children. Especially now that the HPV vaccine is available, and will prevent cancer in thousands of young women, popularizing the message that vaccines are bad is dangerous
I wish the whole world understood how diet affects people. GOOD FOR HER! Only smart parent I have seen in a while.
UGGGGHHHH!!!! I can’t read all these comments right now. I’ll have to reread tomorrow. I’ll just add my 2 cents–my friend (we used to be good friends, now after kids & husbands & life we are more or less friendly) just told me her son, over the summer, was diagnosed with Autism. This was a few weeks ago & she was all excited because Jenny was gunna be on Oprah explaining how her son was cured of Autism. She couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say so her son could be cured too. I’m just afriad Jenny is giving false hope.
OH PLEASE.
My sister has autism, and as an immediate family member of hers, I’d just like to say that everything that Jenny McCarthy has said about her sons autism has been insulting and represents the outdated, exclusionary point of view that people with autism are damaged and need to be fixed.
I feel so sad for her son. If that’s hard to swallow, think for a moment how awful it must be to grow up with your parent believing the way you think and experience the world is diseased.
you managed to post this photo without any mention of her tits….
It is fairly well known that a casein/gluten-free diet can significantly help with some autistic people’s symptoms, especially those that are related to anxiety. Maybe her son is functioning at a relatively high level, and this diet is enough to help him get a No Autism score on the tests. But that’s not a cure. I think more research into how autistic people can be helped by changing their diet would be a very welcome thing, but I don’t think this is a helpful way to promote the issue.
@TheOlfson
THANK YOU for speaking up! I noticed right away they are lopsided as hell. Apart from that tidbit, she is still stupid.
Jeez people. I realize this is a very sensitive issue but if your child was afflicted with a disease and he (even if it only seems like he is) was cured you would all be jumping for joy and letting him grope you too!
I hate reading about this. I work in a school for autisic children. I’ve seen them come and go, and it can’t be cured. I wish Jenny would just admit it.
There are MANY things that are unknown about Autism, and I’m just not sure why everyone is speaking with such authority. Maybe people wouldn’t be so pissed off if she had said “remission” rather than “cured.” There is something seriously wrong with you people getting so angry with her. I promise you this, if one of my children was diagnosed Autistic, or even showed symptoms, I would not hesitate to try the therapies she used. Those of you who take the word of medical professionals, or Ph.D candidates, as Gospel have a lot to learn. Medicine is NOT a perfect science.
“Cured” is not the best word but I do believe that he was only mildly affected in the first place a few lifestyle changes could do wonders. I watched her on Oprah the last time. It’s important to note that she doesn’t say vaccines cause autism and shouldn’t be given. What she does say is that there shouldn’t a one size fits all approach to vaccination. Some people simply don’t respond favorably to certain treatments and should be given alternatives instead. The problem with vaccines is that there are no alternatives. I think this makes sense and it would be worth looking into. If you have adverse reactions to penacillin, your doctor would give you something else, right? While autism is genetic, perhaps a certian vaccine or treatment might bring out a the condition that might otherwise remain dormant. Just a thought.
When it came time for my son’s booster shots, my family doctor had given some information to read before hand.
Anon is correct by saying that it does affect different people differently.
It’s our responsibility to make informed choices about vaccines. Whether it’s for you, or your kids. You need to make sure you have all the information, and that you feel comfortable with your choice.
It can take time, but it’s worth it.
I had to change my medication several times before I found one that works for me, I also had to make several changes in my lifestyle. By educating myself, and trial and error, I now know that a Rx vaccine, or any type of medicine is not a cure all. Sometimes it’s a combination of life style, diet and medicine. There is still so much about the human body that is still unknown, it would be irresponsible to disregard any possibility.
Her tits look great, don’t they?
Makes me think that Denis Leary may not be as far off as many thought.
ITA with everything Ribbet said. Id love it if we could have the same discussion after hearing Amanda Peets side.
whoa.
umm we must keep in mind that this tagline is coming from a tabloid magazine….
They have actually shown that healthy diet can improve autism. So maybe its not that her son is “cured” but that hes doing a lot better since shes restricting his diet to healthy/whole foods…
For everyone that says shes an idiot, maybe you should look into vaccines? I’m not saying vaccines CAUSE autism I think personally a lot of problems are all the crap in our foods etc but the APA (American Ped Assoc) gets paid by the pharmaceutical companies who produce the vaccines hence the huge increase of the # of vaccines our children get compared to even 10 years ago. The thing is, you don’t start researching until after you have kids and i’m assuming a lot of you that read beet don’t have kids.