She does have a son with autism, so it's not unreasonable to expect that she knows a little something about it. At least she's using her spotlight for something that might help others.

I heard a report on NPR a while ago that highlighted research indicating that some autistic children seem to get better--or, at least, more "normal"--when they have a fever.

She and her sisters are so damn fine. I love them.

Did she ever think the only people going to her talks are the parents whose kid got better after trying her method? I can't see many parents trying her method then going to one of her talks to let her know it failed...

Headline: Jenny McCarthy urges medical community to accept her autism cure.

FTFA: Actress/model Jenny McCarthy has called on the medical community to recognize that diet and vitamins can help ease the symptoms of autism.

Subby is a moran of the highest degree. That's 32nd degree if you're counting at home.

I believe it's actually due to the magical healing powers of Jim Carrey.

"I don't have a clue, see? Not a farking clue."

I'll bet her boobies cure autism...

I used to work with adults with autism, and heres one of the things that gets to me. How come when I child is born with a physical deformity like not ever being able to walk, parents deal with it. But so many douchebag parents of children with autism refuse to accept their child's mental disability?

The drug companies don't make any money if diet and vitamins fix the problem. The medical community will never accept natural cures or treatments because they are in bed with the drug companies.

You mean the medical community is ignoring anecdotal evidence from a C level actor? What is the world coming to?

SushiJoe: But so many douchebag parents of children with autism refuse to accept their child's mental disability?

Guh? Do they just pretend the kid's a dumb weirdo or something?

Two Dogs Farking: I'll bet her boobies cure autism...

Her boobies cause autism. Or at least an unwillingness to establish eye contact. So they're somewhere there in the spectrum.

SushiJoe: I used to work with adults with autism, and heres one of the things that gets to me. How come when I child is born with a physical deformity like not ever being able to walk, parents deal with it. But so many douchebag parents of children with autism refuse to accept their child's mental disability?

Are you saying that Jenny McCarthy is a douchebag because she wants to promote that a good diet and supplements can help children with Austism suffer a bit less? I hardly see this as not accepting her son's illness. If a kid is born and cannot walk, you get them a wheelchair and whatever tools they need to get around and be mobile, right? What is different about finding solutions that will help people with Autism?

Only 1 picture so far? You guys are really slipping.

Pocket Ninja: She does have a son with autism, so it's not unreasonable to expect that she knows a little something about it. At least she's using her spotlight for something that might help others.

Unfortunately she doesn't know...when you read her book and watch her interviews she doesn't "believe" in science, or tested therapies, and she's taking a lot of money and energy away from people who actually ARE doing serious research. She can't even make up her mind whether her son is "cured" or not...it depends on who's interviewing her at the time. There are some good posts about her (and what she's doing) at Autism Diva(p) and Left Brain/Right Brain(p) if you're interested in seeing what she actually is "preaching".

SushiJoe: How come when I child is born with a physical deformity like not ever being able to walk, parents deal with it. But so many douchebag parents of children with autism refuse to accept their child's mental disability?

Maybe because not being able to walk due to missing limbs or other deformities are clear cut and knowable and likely not curable. Whereas autism is still not fully understood and there may be ways to alleviate the symptoms. What parent would not want to help their child in any way possible?

Autism doesn't need to be "cured."

there is no "cure" for autism, or even a prevention yet. behavioral modification and such do help though and I highly encourage that, but don't run around giving parents false hope by telling them you cured your son's autism by not letting him have any red dye no. 40

DaVenda: The drug companies don't make any money if diet and vitamins fix the problem. The medical community will never accept natural cures or treatments because they are in bed with the drug companies.

Funny, I see tons of ads on television for vitamin supplements, diet pills, or an ex-con promoting "Natural Cures". And I'd like to think that scientists in general aren't evil, that they're not going to lie and kill a few kids to get a few extra bucks.

And I hate the word "natural". Lead is natural. So is mercury.

Kyosuke: Autism doesn't need to be "cured."

I'd rather my kid be able to talk, thank you very much.

Same with the weirdos who claim that deafness is good, going out of their way to ensure their own kids are born deaf.

darkyn: You mean the medical community is ignoring anecdotal evidence from a C level actor? What is the world coming to?

It's terrible! Next thing you know, the mechanical engineering community will ignore the mad ramblings of Charlie Sheen.

JEWS DID 9/11!!!

Jenny McCarthy and people like her doing serious harm. She goes on Orpah and totally undermines science, spreading lies tons of people believe. I feel for her and for her kid, but this autism stuff is just BS. It's anti-scientific. She is convincing people to avoid treatment.

It's like Africans who believe that having sex with virgins is how you cure AIDS.

SushiJoe: But so many douchebag parents of children with autism refuse to accept their child's mental disability?

Well, a few things. One, autism is a symptom of several conditions, some of which are treatable. Some are not. In general, unless you have access to a top-level autism clinic, your child's condition might be ignored because it takes a very particular specialist to make a differential diagnosis, and another specialist or two to treat it. There are, for instance, just two hospitals in the United States that have the necessary skills and equipment to diagnose and treat my son's condition.

Two, (looked at your profile, it doesn't indicate much of anything, but certainly not that you are a parent) when you are a parent, you have one job, 24/7/365, and that is making that little bundle wrapped in a blanket grow up to be a functional human being someday. And you do everything in your power to make that happen, and wish you could do more--even with a normal kid.

darkyn: You mean the medical community is ignoring anecdotal evidence from a C level actor? What is the world coming to?

I don't know what the world is coming to--but if your child has a condition that is so rare that there are only a dozen cases documented worldwide each year, it is certain that you have more experience with it than any average pediatrician, and even specialists. I often have to explain my son's condition to medical professionals--because they have not heard of the disease. They don't cover everything in medical school, you know. I'm not a mediocre actor, but I do know more about his condition than all but a handful of doctors.

SushiJoe: there is no "cure" for autism, or even a prevention yet. behavioral modification and such do help though and I highly encourage that, but don't run around giving parents false hope by telling them you cured your son's autism by not letting him have any red dye no. 40

But there is a "cure" for not having read the article. It's called RTFA, and it's taken visually. The best part is in most subjects, just one treatment is all that's needed.

/some slower patients needed two or three doses, though

DamnYankees: Jenny McCarthy and people like her doing serious harm. She goes on Orpah and totally undermines science, spreading lies tons of people believe. I feel for her and for her kid, but this autism stuff is just BS. It's anti-scientific. She is convincing people to avoid treatment.

It's like Africans who believe that having sex with virgins is how you cure AIDS.

So you know, as an undisputed fact, that the statement "diet and vitamins can help ease the symptoms of autism." is false?

Yeah, common people can never know anything about medical care. Hell, Augusto and Michaela Odone are just nut jobs.

NightOwl2255: DamnYankees: Jenny McCarthy and people like her doing serious harm. She goes on Orpah and totally undermines science, spreading lies tons of people believe. I feel for her and for her kid, but this autism stuff is just BS. It's anti-scientific. She is convincing people to avoid treatment.

It's like Africans who believe that having sex with virgins is how you cure AIDS.

So you know, as an undisputed fact, that the statement "diet and vitamins can help ease the symptoms of autism." is false?

Oy. Stop using the solipsistic phrase "as an undisputed fact". I don't know you aren't an alien from the Vega Cluster is false as an undisputed fact.

What I do know is that its unscientific, and not supported by the evidence. And to encourage people to use those methods of amelioration does harm, because it turns people away from legitimate scientific endeavors.

smooshie: I'd rather my kid be able to talk, thank you very much.

I'm sorry if I was too general in my snappy comment, but I believe there is not (and shouldn't be) such thing as a "cure" for autism. Certainly disabilities should be addressed, and solutions sought, but we're not talking about an illness with a beginning and an end.

I know I'm unusual, but my autistic (AS) symptoms have turned out in some ways to be a blessing. There are talents I have that "normal" people will never have. Yes, I had communication difficulties. I still do. Even a greater handicap to me was not knowing I was autisticoontil I was in my late 30s. Do I wish I was "normal" or "cured?" No. I do wish I'd have known I different (and not just "stupid" or "slow") when I was younger, but I've made the most of that knowledge since.

Thank god Einstein was never "cured."

I wish you good luck in your search for a form of communication your child can embrace.

smooshie: Same with the weirdos who claim that deafness is good, going out of their way to ensure their own kids are born deaf.

I have a deaf sister. Until you've seen the way deafness isolates a person from the real world, and the way the deaf handicap has been virtually ignored up until recently, it's easy to understand why they would create their own culture and want their offspring to be a part of that.

pandabear: I don't know what the world is coming to--but if your child has a condition that is so rare that there are only a dozen cases documented worldwide each year, it is certain that you have more experience with it than any average pediatrician, and even specialists. I often have to explain my son's condition to medical professionals--because they have not heard of the disease. They don't cover everything in medical school, you know. I'm not a mediocre actor, but I do know more about his condition than all but a handful of doctors.

While I am sure that your experience with your specific child is very extensive, do not make the mistake of assuming that every other autistic child is identical. Regardless of how much knowledge you believe you have, I still value a medical degree over anecdotal experience.

Ms. McCarthy can promote whatever theory she wants, but she shouldn't be too surprised when most of us refuse to accept it without a substantial amount of proof. I learned to deal with my issues (Asperger's Syndrome, FTW) by simply observing people and learning social interaction like how one learns a foreign language. It didn't "cure" me, but it does help me to adapt when I deal with NT's. Of course, mine is a very mild case of AS, so it won't work for everyone. Sorta like Ms. McCarthy's solution.


/waiting for the Aspie farkers to come out of the woodwork

DamnYankees: NightOwl2255: DamnYankees: Jenny McCarthy and people like her doing serious harm. She goes on Orpah and totally undermines science, spreading lies tons of people believe. I feel for her and for her kid, but this autism stuff is just BS. It's anti-scientific. She is convincing people to avoid treatment.

It's like Africans who believe that having sex with virgins is how you cure AIDS.

So you know, as an undisputed fact, that the statement "diet and vitamins can help ease the symptoms of autism." is false?

Oy. Stop using the solipsistic phrase "as an undisputed fact". I don't know you aren't an alien from the Vega Cluster is false as an undisputed fact.

What I do know is that its unscientific, and not supported by the evidence. And to encourage people to use those methods of amelioration does harm, because it turns people away from legitimate scientific endeavors.

She has said that people should use "diet and vitamins" to the exclusion of other treatment? That parents should not seek traditional treatment?

You wrote that she is "spreading lies". Is it a lie in fact, or your opinion?

NightOwl2255: She has said that people should use "diet and vitamins" to the exclusion of other treatment? That parents should not seek traditional treatment?

You wrote that she is "spreading lies". Is it a lie in fact, or your opinion?

It's fact. Granted, its not entirely contained in the linked article. But Jenny McCarthy has been doing this for a while. She went on Oprah and talked about vaccines. She has been outspoken. I'm sure she believes what she's saying, but so does Tom Cruise.

DaVenda
The drug companies don't make any money if diet and vitamins fix the problem. The medical community will never accept natural cures or treatments because they are in bed with the drug companies.

Put the tin foil away and give me a farking break, Kevin Trudeau. There's not some vast conspiracy of pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and researchers stretching across the corporate world, the government, and research institutions to prevent things that really work from reaching the market. Such conspiracy theories are the province of people who want to sell you their fake "cures" (like Trudeau, an ex-convict who knows absolutely nothing about medicine).

DamnYankees: I'm sure she believes what she's saying, but so does Tom Cruise.



Tom Cruise definitely has experience with it, too. Definitely. Yeah.

patrick767: DaVenda
The drug companies don't make any money if diet and vitamins fix the problem. The medical community will never accept natural cures or treatments because they are in bed with the drug companies.

Put the tin foil away and give me a farking break, Kevin Trudeau. There's not some vast conspiracy of pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and researchers stretching across the corporate world, the government, and research institutions to prevent things that really work from reaching the market. Such conspiracy theories are the province of people who want to sell you their fake "cures" (like Trudeau, an ex-convict who knows absolutely nothing about medicine).

THIS. Not to mention, what do people think drugs are? They are hebral remedies which have been refined and discovered. Science took the old cures of a thousand years ago, isolated the chemicals in those herbs that did the work, figured out how to work with them, and made much more affective pills.

It's called learning.

OSULugan: DamnYankees: I'm sure she believes what she's saying, but so does Tom Cruise.



Tom Cruise definitely has experience with it, too. Definitely. Yeah.

Wow, well done. I didn't intend that at all.

DamnYankees
It's fact. Granted, its not entirely contained in the linked article. But Jenny McCarthy has been doing this for a while. She went on Oprah and talked about vaccines.

Aw jeez....
Numerous studies have been done on the vaccines and no link whatsoever has been found to autism. People advocating that we not vaccinate are literally causing unnecessary deaths.

DamnYankees
The drug companies don't make any money if diet and vitamins fix the problem. The medical community will never accept natural cures or treatments because they are in bed with the drug companies.

Well, some of our medicines have herbal origins, so point taken. Many do not though.

Show me the hard proof of scientific evidence and I'll say that you can use it.

I'm all for natural cures, as long as they are verified with the same rigor as all drugs today are through double-blind tests and the like.

patrick767: DamnYankees
The drug companies don't make any money if diet and vitamins fix the problem. The medical community will never accept natural cures or treatments because they are in bed with the drug companies.

Well, some of our medicines have herbal origins, so point taken. Many do not though.

Umm...I didn't say that. You either misquoted me or misattributed someone else.

Kyosuke: I know I'm unusual, but my autistic (AS) symptoms have turned out in some ways to be a blessing. There are talents I have that "normal" people will never have. Yes, I had communication difficulties. I still do. Even a greater handicap to me was not knowing I was autisticoontil I was in my late 30s. Do I wish I was "normal" or "cured?" No. I do wish I'd have known I different (and not just "stupid" or "slow") when I was younger, but I've made the most of that knowledge since.

I agree. Just like being sad once in a while is a good thing, and there were some pretty moody geniuses out there. But if you're so sad all you can think about is ending your life, you should probably be "cured" from that. Same with autism, I don't think people on the low end of autism (Asberger's) should be treated, but when the autism prevents you from performing basic functions (talking to your loved ones, holding a job, learning, etc), I think parents should at least consider treatment.

Of course proper diet and vitamins are important. But.

Is this not the same Ms. McCarthy who blames her sons autism on vaccinations and has used her celebrity to encourage others not to vaccinate their children?

Forgive me for taking her advice with a grain or two of salt.

If I hear another coworker tell me they have high operational Aspergers, I'm going to kill someone.

Asperger's = The new ADHD

fenrael23: If I hear another coworker tell me they have high operational Aspergers, I'm going to kill someone.

Asperger's = The new ADHD

I completely agree with you. It seems like lots of people are self-diagnosing Asperger's. I'm not sure why they would see this as useful.

aniktwo: I completely agree with you. It seems like lots of people are self-diagnosing Asperger's. I'm not sure why they would see this as useful.

It's better than calling yourself a socially-inept basement dweller who surfs the Internet all day long.

/socially-inept basement dweller
//surfs the Internet all day long
///not disordered

smooshie: aniktwo: I completely agree with you. It seems like lots of people are self-diagnosing Asperger's. I'm not sure why they would see this as useful.

It's better than calling yourself a socially-inept basement dweller who surfs the Internet all day long.


Touche!

DamnYankees: What I do know is that its unscientific, and not supported by the evidence. And to encourage people to use those methods of amelioration does harm, because it turns people away from legitimate scientific endeavors.

Here is an article written by Jenny McCarthy on the subject...

Link (new window)

Not all children with autism will be able to make leaps like Evan. Some parents have worked longer and harder than I have, with no success, trying the exact same things.

I have no idea why some treatments work on some kids and not on others. But I beg moms and dads to at least try. I will work my ass off raising awareness for autism and banging down doors to get answers.

In the meantime, don't give up hope and remember that acceptance of your child's condition does not mean giving up; it's just simply loving your child for being the perfect little spirit he or she is.

DamnYankees
Umm...I didn't say that. You either misquoted me or misattributed someone else.

Oops, I was responding to your comment about our drugs being herbal in origin and managed to paste the wrong comment. Sorry about that.
/it was pre-coffee

Ryan2065: Here is an article written by Jenny McCarthy on the subject...

Looks pretty sensible. These, on the other hand, do not :

McCarthy : If you look at the vaccine schedule, and you can go on www.generationrescue.com and that's a really good website

And on the Oprah show :

Jenny says even before Evan received his vaccines, she tried to talk to her pediatrician about it. "Right before his MMR shot, I said to the doctor, 'I have a very bad feeling about this shot. This is the autism shot, isn't it?' And he said, 'No, that is ridiculous. It is a mother's desperate attempt to blame something,' and he swore at me, and then the nurse gave [Evan] the shot," she says. "And I remember going, 'Oh, God, I hope he's right.' And soon thereafter-boom-the soul's gone from his eyes."

smooshie: McCarthy : If you look at the vaccine schedule, and you can go on www.generationrescue.com and that's a really good website

And on the Oprah show :

Which causes this:

Link (new window)

Jenny mention that if she has listen to her motherly instinct then she would have picked up austism in the earlier stages. My son will be one and I do not want to panic "what if it happens to him"? For mothers who have autistic children or work with children. Is there any advice or signs to watch out for. Should I really hold back on vaccines? I'm just concern and want info/ tips. Thanks

So some of what she says is helpful and some of what she says hurts people.