Jenny McCarthy and autism

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Has anyone been watching Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Pete go around the syndicated television circuit and discuss their experiences with autism?

First off, I'm a pedi nurse, not a mother so the sticky for parents, I don't think I belong to that just yet...

But anyways, I was wondering what you guys thought about this? I personally have mixed feelings... on one hand, its great that attention is being brought to this condition since there hasn't been too much previously.

But, what I have issues with-- Jenny McCarthy went on Oprah stating that her child is pretty much cured by cutting dairy and gluten from the diet. Tonight she was on Larry King (maybe it was a rerun since it is Sunday night and all...) and was discussing it there too.

Maybe I missed it, but there were not any mention of the type of autism her son has, the severity, etc. She also just said that she "googled" autism and hundreds of pages came up discussing cures... but as we all know, anyone can make a site up with whatever they want to say without any kind of research or evidence.

Now, I am all for nontraditional means of healing, including changes in diet, but I have a feeling that because she is saying this on tv, in particular, Oprah, that there is going to be a lot of backlash against the medical community because of lack of "cure" for their children, even though autism is such an individualized condition.

Just wondering what you all thought?

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Yes, I saw Jenny McCarthy on the news on Friday night with her autistic child.

And yes, it concerns me that she might be giving false hopes to desperate parents out there.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Jenny McCarthy was also featured in People magazine. Maybe i missed it but i didn't see mention of her son's autism severity either.

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

If diet has helped that child, wonderful. I don't see anything wrong with other parents giving it a shot- it probably won't hurt anything. I'd be astonished, however, if we saw improvement in massive numbers of autistic kids.

I think it will also create the perception in the general public that there is an easy "cure" for autism. Parents of autistic kids will forever more have to deal with the well-meaning telling them that there's a simple solution for their problems.

I have two sons with ADHD. They are now grown, or nearly so, and the hyperactivity component does change with time. When my oldest, in particular, was young he was very hyper.

I can't tell you how many people asked me why didn't I just restrict his sugar, food dyes, etc.

You learn how to smile and say "I have tried that, it doesn't help" between clenched teeth.

You learn to say that because you really want to shout "Do you think I'm stupid?? If the cure were that simple, I'd have done it long ago!!!"

I've seen kids who have a sensitivity to red dye and who become very "hyper" when they ingest it; this doesn't mean the kid has ADHD, though the behavior may be the same. I have to wonder, if this child was cured with dietary changes, was he truly autistic at all, or was the autistic behavior a result of food sensitivities?

My $0.02 worth, anyway.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I too have a family member with mental illness. Please don't give me any advice: have totally and frustratingly btdt. And...to take medical advice from a celebrity is just ridiculous.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

There was an article in our local paper yesterday about a pediatrician whose son is autistic (again, no solid definition of severity) who states she cut out gluten and casein from her son's diet and saw "miraculous improvement" in his behaviour.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=6c9cbb36-4376-418d-8ff1-88454a7f22b5

(I apologize for the pop-up!)

When I was looking for a link to the story, I found this...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070508.wlautism08/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home

So much he-said-she-said all the time on topics like this...

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Some of us were discussing this on a non-medical discussion board, and one person referred to Jenny McCarthy as "the self appointed Jonas Salk of autism."

I have to say, I don't disagree.

One has to wonder about a doctor who would walk into a room, see the otoscope caps lined up, and say "Your child is autistic". This is what McCarthy says happened. People I have known who have been through this have said that their children required multiple evaluations, or even an inpatient evaluation, before autism was even suggested as a diagnosis.

I do have a Web friend who is a nurse, and she tried the gluten-free diet. While her son is not cured, he's had a dramatic improvement and she said it's not that hard for the whole family to follow. I have another friend who had chronic sinus infections until he discovered he had a wheat allergy, cut that out of his diet, and no more sinus infections!

As for the doctors' attitudes about MMR and some people believing that it's a conspiracy to produce a generation of disabled children, has anyone else observed that the physicians, and especially physician couples, seem to have the highest number of really severely autistic children? And I know of several families who have this in their families, and we can't blame modern vaccines because these people are middle-aged or older.

I'm talking about people who IMHO should be institutionalized as soon as the diagnosis is certain. Before flaming me, read this and then tell me how any family could benefit from having someone like this living with them.

http://dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2003/09/27/autism/index.html?pn=2

I got that story from a link that said, "Here's a story about autism that will never be in the mainstream press because it isn't all warm and fuzzy." The message board had a post stating that the author did not express any love for his daughter or joy in her companionship, and this is true so please be forewarned.

As for McCarthy's divorce, there is considerable chatter about the real reason, which I heard about even before I learned of her son, and it's quite scandalous. PM me if your inquiring mind wants to know. I'm under the impression that her ex-husband has no contact with his son, and her prior books implied that he wasn't all that interested, ever. :(

I do think Holly Robinson-Peete is more sincere. Her son may have had a decline in function after getting the MMR, but from what I have heard, he was clearly not normal before.

I have NEVER spoken to ANYONE who said their child was left disabled by the MMR, although keep in mind I'm not a nurse. Has anyone here seen this, or experienced it themselves?

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if anyone is interested in the gluten/casein issue try brain.hastypastry.net/forums/ and go to the gluten sensitivity forum

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I like her. She's as much an expert on autism as Suzanne Sommers on weight, but caveat emptor.

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I think she has written a book about her son and Autism. That is why we see her everywhere right now. Marketing her book.

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Specializes in my patients.

i've seen jenny talk a few times on tv and i have heard her say "this is what worked for my son, it might not work for someone else's child, but there are many available options and this is something that people can try. it worked for my son but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone."

i saw her on oprah, larry king, and i think ellen? i can't remember....but with tv editing, maybe they took out the severity her son has because it's "not interesting news" to non-healthcare workers/viewers....people (in general) want to hear about her son and his success, they "don't care" "how sick" he is.....just a thought....but tv ratings/time constraints/keeping content interesting, i'm sure, is important to producers.....

i think it's good she's talking about it, at least it brings attention to the subject. it's sad "famous people" have to get sick for something to be done but that's the way it works sometimes, i guess....i wish it was different....michael j. fox, christopher reed.....if it helps one child, one mom, one dad, isn't it worth it? i hope so!

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Specializes in Public Health, DEI.

My son does have autism and I don't buy the "cure" notion at all. If your child's symptoms go away with a change in diet, yippee coyotes, I'm delighted for you, but your child had something else going on, not autism. By definition, autism is a lifelong developmental disorder. People who have it can make all kinds of strides and many (including my own child) function so highly that you have to be around for a while before you sense any differences. Nonetheless, they're there and in some shape or form, they always will be.

Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete, though? I read a People article about HRP some time ago, it annoyed the crap out of me, but I don't really remember why. Few and far between are any pieces in the mainstream media that I believe present a thorough and accurate picture of autism. Still, those two are telling the truth as they believe it to be. If Larry King ever wanted me to go on his show, I'd do exactly the same- it would just sound much different than Jenny. They do raise awareness and help to keep autism in the public eye, and I do think those are good things, whether I agree with what they have to say or not.

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