Well, she’s just an actress…and unfortunately, we place too much value on the opinions of actors in this country.
Now Erik was discussing Sigourney Weaver (the future Mrs Leitch if she ever stops stalking me) and her role in Snowcake but I thought it might serve as an interesting comparison for how another actress, Jenny McCarthy, is currently viewed.
In point of fact, I entirely agree with Erik, we _do_ place far too much importance on what acctresses and actors say. For example, on Larry King Live last night jenny McCarthy spoke quite a lot but didn’t actually _say_ much at all.
For example:
It’s a global epidemic…
Really? Where is the science that supports that position? Because there is an _awful_ lot of evidence that entirely refutes it.
I went online and I found a community called Defeat Autism Now……I believed enough — even though my pediatrician at the time said it’s all bull — and followed this treatment and my son got better
Yeah, that and all the ABA, and the Indigo/Crystal beliefs:
The day I found out I was an adult Indigo will stay with me forever. I was walking hand in hand with my son down a Los Angeles street when this women approached me and said, “You’re an Indigo and your son is a Crystal.” I immediately replied, “Yes!” and the woman smiled at me and walked away. I stood there for a moment, because I had no idea what the heck an Indigo and Crystal was, but I seemed so sure of it when I had blurted out “Yes!” After doing some of my own research on the word Indigo, I realized not only was I an early Indigo but my son was in fact a Crystal child.
A what?
The Indigo child concept was first publicized in 1999 by the book The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived, written by the husband-and-wife team of Lee Carroll and Jan Tober. Carroll insists that the concept was obtained via conversations with a spiritual entity known as Kryon.
Except, the website that carries all her beliefs has been quietly vanished. If you want to find this info now, you have to look in Google Cache.
Onwards,
I’m not, nor is the autism community, anti-vaccine. We’re anti-toxin and we’re anti-schedule.
The autism community? Who _is_ this woman with the ego to think she speaks for the entire autism community? Good grief. And as for the section of the community she speaks for not being anti-vaccine? Try these on Jenny:
!http://www.kevinleitch.co.uk/images/eoh/PowerOfTruthRallySign.jpg!
!http://www.autismrally.com/IMG_5365.jpg!
!http://www.autismrally.com/IMG_5426.jpg!
All taken from the sort of rally you’re promoting later on in the show.
JM:
And isn’t it ironic, in 1983 there was 10 shots and now there’s 36 and the rise of autism happened at the same time?
No, its not ironic. Its another example of correlation not implying causation – you can see another graphic example on the ‘canards’ page of this very website.
JM:
I believe that parents’ anecdotal information is science-based information
Yeah. Its not.
JM:
environmental toxins play a role. Viruses play a role. Those are all triggers. But vaccines play the largest role right now
No evidence of any kind was presented to back this up. Later on McCarthy sneered at the AAP for talking about studies that weren’t ‘independent’ (what she meant by that is anyone’s guess) but in short succession she said that parental anecdote was good science and that vaccines play ‘the largest’ role in causing autism.
David Kirby was sitting right next to McCarthy and yet neither of them mentioned his HuffPo entry in which said:
And, if 20% of autism cases are mito related, and 6% of those cases regressed because of vaccines, that would mean that at least 1% of all autism cases were vaccine related.
1%.
Lets compare that to the approximately 40% already genetically accounted for. I don’t think its difficult to process which is the larger number.
And after that Dear Reader I simply can’t carry on ploughing through the rest of McCarthy’s contributions. They range from the offensive to the inane.
But here’s an offer for Ms McCarthy – and David, I know you’re a reader so feel free to pass this on:
Come and pay my family and me a visit Ms McCarthy. Just you and maybe your son – no media, no journos, no cameras, no Hollywood bullshit. You and I can have a proper well mannered debate whilst our kids play and see if we still feel the same afterwards. What about it? Got the balls?
Left Brain Right Brain 
This is good so far as the content goes but you have to read the transcript to get the full flavour of the woman’s absolute rudeness in shouting down distinguished doctors and turning the whole broadcast into the Jenny McCartney Show.
What were Larry King and his producers thinking letting McCarthy ride roughshod over Drs Karp and Tayloe? Oh, wait, I know…what was that lead-in? Something like “Jenny and the Doctors”? Sorry, but McCarthy reminds me a little too much of Evan’s grandmother.
http://www.collectinghollywood.com/JBulifant.htm
Yet another reason, maybe #563, why I drink too much. What with the general collapse of Western Civilization, and the Hippies and Mohammedans taking over, I want to be numb when they come for me; Numb, I tell you.
Oh, I dunno about the land of UK, but I think we still have free speech in the USA, where I reside, and exist at this moment.
I can write “mohammedan” if I want to do so.
Ppfhhbbbbthh!
P.s. Glad to see that that McCarron woman got a serious sentence.
And the flavor is….ersatz at best: Something’s rotting in the state of Dan!mark.
She doesn’t represent my part of the autism community. (Can we sue for misrepresentation?)
I opted to read the transcript. I have previously heard about her having a somewhat shrill presentation mode, and do not know if my aversion would have forced me to turn the TV off. But I definitely wanted to know if she had anything new or useful to bring to the table. From what was covered in the transcript, no.
It made it apparent to me that this ‘advocate’, by use of expletives on national media, would not be a desirable candidate for representing any number of causes in a civil manner.
I haven’t heard any reports of candor breakdown like this during, for instance, any of this last year’s presidential political debates.
Interesting that independent research was brought up. Why hasn’t this Autism Research Institute sponsored anything worthwhile she could bring up? Don’t these folks all have the kind of training, degrees, and certifications that should be necessary to attempt to support, via peer-reviewed studies, the modes of causation for the over 4000 claims being presented in the Autism Omibus Proceeding? After all, if they are experts in their fields, shouldn’t there be enough biochemistry, neurology, and toxicology (etc.) qualified members to support the therapies being recommended?
Pardon me if those last questions are a bit rhetorical, as it is exactly that institute that basically represents the organizations for which she appears to be champion.
As someone said the other day (pardon my plagiarism) there’s apparently something rotten in danmark.
Let that woman in your house? Wouldn’t you and your family rather invite Sigourney Weaver over for tea and plan for how to blitz the media with posautive videos and reality based information from autistics? I think Sigourney will realize that the current Mrs. Leitch is more than a match for her, and she’d stop with all the phone calls (kidding, Sigourney, kidding).
I am reading your posts with interest as someone referred to this site. I take it this blog is over on the other side of the pond?
Some very interesting analysis here….and in prior posts that I have read….
I have some questions about this obviously heated topic. Am I right in assuming after reading a large number of the posts on this blog that the majority here think that there is no “vaccine-autism” link?
With regard to my next question, I am not really speaking to people who are autistic but doing so well that they can actually blog…I am more interested in those caring for autistic children/adults who are so affected that carrying on a conversation such as those on this blog would be impossible….
My question is, does anyone know the cause of their child’s autism? If so, how did you discover the cause? What tests were done? What treatments have you found helpful? Do your children go to school? Are they in therapy?
thank you,
lacschmi
(oops, cracked the same joke as someone else, and comcrash wouldn’t let me get back on to apologize sooner.)
Uh, Most of the people here are from both sides of the pond, respect the findings of peer reviewed science, and (i beleive) most don’t know what caused our Autism as the mainstream guys haven’t figured out all the causes yet.
In my case there seems to be a chance that the Staph infection I had around 18 months ‘May’ have been a contributing factor, depending on how the gene+ environment+ hows your immune system to start with/or how bad was the infection.
oops, perhaps I should say Hi!
and point you to http://www.autism-hub.co.uk, where there are a lot more blogs interested in caring for autistic folks of all ages
Hello! I just want to clarify for you, that some of the autistics who blog and are members of the autism hub are considered to be severely affected. There are a variety of perspectives and life experiences of autistics and friends and family of us who blog, and can be found at the aforementioned autism hub.
For me, it seems pretty much genetic. My dad’s on the spectrum, and he has wondered about his parents also on the spectrum as well.
As for Jenny, I think this whole mess is just a reflection of two larger problems in the media. One is the over-emphasis on celebrity figures, and the other is the lack of attention to scientific evidence in favor of the “spicier story” – though unfortunately this may be leading us into epidemic levels of preventable diseases, just because people fear the autism epidemic which doesn’t even have a logical basis of existing, let alone the fact that being autistic is not a terrible burden in itself.
It’s also pretty much impossible to definitively know the cause for any individual, though sometimes there are pretty big clues (a history of autistic relatives, for instance). It’s sort of like probability meets process of elimination: since there’s not evidence for vaccines, then it’s time to look on to other things (such as genetics, which makes sense, as twin studies have confirmed genetic links exist).
Unfortunately, some people look at a personal correlation and take that as meaning that there’s a high probability that the two things are related. Then they hear Jenny McCarthy talking about it as if it’s a legitimate theory, and this lends further credibility to their mistaken notion. It’s especially dangerous, as parents of newly diagnosed children are often not given useful, supportive information and are vulnerable to needing to find something to blame, and of getting into “fix it” mode.
Justthisguy, why this desperation? Why not struggle when they come for us, and even BEFORE it?
I have actually thought before that the anti-vaxer movement, the rise of creationism and the onslaught of Islamism mentioned by you all have something in common – they are aspects of what Popper calls “the eternal revolt against freedom and reason”.
lacschmi – I don’t talk publicly about my kids anymore on this blog. If you’d like to chat about your ideas/questions please feel free to email me.
Kev,
It’s nice to see you back. You provide a real meaningful service to the community to express their opinions and share information on ASD. My best wishes to you and your family.
I watched the clip and I thought Jenny did a decent job even though she is no rocket scientist. I thought the guy to her left came off as the most credible on the panel, but my guess is that he is her DAN! doctor. At least, he APPEARED to be balanced, which is good for sales. The others on the panel all came off as completely closed minded.
In the end, there are no credible studies for or against vaccine related/induced/contributory autism. The mercury and MMR studies are weak. No study that I have seen has ever been properly baselined. This is an absolute must since the diagnosis is both highly subjective and expanding. The relative trend over time is so important for this type of analysis.
However, the crude data suggests that thimerosal laced vaccines are no more a causative agent than any other vaccine (if at all). The so-called victory in vaccine “court” only proves the deficiencies in the American legal system (if it can be called that).
As I have stated in the past, the only reasonable study at this time would be to compare vaccinated with unvaccinated children over time so I agree with Kirby and McCarthy on this show. If this fails to show a link, the debate should stop right there. It won’t for some people, but it should.
However, if this study does show a link, only then should we begin to look for the specific causative agents. It was always stupid to look for a specific causative agent before a general connection was found.
That’s like trying to find out what agent or ingredient in tobacco causes cancer before any general connection is made. The tobacco industry could have mislead the public for another 10 or 20 years if that was the case.
While the study of twins and siblings shows there is a strong genetic component in autism, it also shows that it is not the only factor in autism. If my memory serves me correct, I don’t think any study of identical twins has shown more than a 60% correlation of common diagnosis and symptoms even though some studies show as many as 90% will share an ASD diagnosis. I believe that some studies have shown much lower correlations.
I don’t know if I could have a “well-mannered” debate with McCarthy. For one thing, as she demonstrated on Larry King Live, she is incapable of being polite. She aggressively talks over people who disagree with her and then crows that they couldn’t “stand up to her” when in reality they were probably shocked at her boorishness and uncertain how to respond. For another thing, her “arrogance of ignorance” is so profound and unrelenting that nothing I could tell her would be likely to sway her.
Finally, such malignant stupidity as McCarthy routinely demonstrates is simply so offensive to me that righteous anger is an entirely appropriate response.
Just have to share the crazy. I was checking in on Ms. Taylor’s blog to see what new mischief was brewing, and heard our favorite “actress/activist”‘s voice…I quickly scrolled down to stop the video, and paused it randomly at a moment when Ms. McCarthy had a particularly freaky (I know, I know…) facial expression…
http://tinyurl.com/4p7bwh
I trust Ms. Clark to have a field day with this.
WOW – just happened to click onto this website after looking into Dr. Stephen B. Edelson/Atlanta.
I am shocked and surprised to find such negative posts about parents who have found alternative therapies have helped their children. Curious. Have these parents tried these these alternative therapies and found no results? Why take down other parents who have found alternative interventions that have helped their children?
Don’t we all wish the very best for our kids no matter what form it takes? Can’t we just allow each parent to love in their own way?
Wow.
Wait, isn’t Stephen Edelson of Atlanta mostly retired? Something to do with the lawsuits by parents of autistic kids that his treatments made worse!
Ah, here it is:
http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/edelson.html
Jenny or anyone, I am about to approach and autistic center here in Albany, GA to donate my time as a chiropractor the children and the families, but we are in a town of very close minded people and would like some true testimonies of individuals whom have had experiences with chiropractic care for their autistic children. Any help would be appreciated. If you can please e-mail me more information or point me in the right direction. dr.katrina@mchsi.com
Katrina: Why would any sane person go to you to have their back adjusted with your very very severe reading disorder?