And so, this was the week that the anti-vaccine/autism hypothesis got its first real airing in a public arena. Jenny McCarthy went on US TV and told her audience that her son was her science (quite possibly _the_ silliest thing on the show since Tom Cruise’s couch/brain malfunction).
I’m going to level with you here. I don’t really care too much about Jenny McCarthy spouting on about the evils of vaccines. She’s not the first and she won’t be the last. Despite the raptures the anti-vaccination people are having over her appearance she wasn’t on Oprah because of her vaccine ideas.
This is what bothers me: she was on Oprah because she was famous. It scares the _shit_ out of me that we can only apparently have a conversation about something after a celeb has let the light of their countenance shine down upon it.
The UK is just as ridiculous about this whole thing as the US. Its got to a stage whereby the subject under discussion doesn’t even seem to really matter to Joe Public – what seems to matter is that there’s a famous face pontificating on a subject that, in all honesty, they’ve probably only recently begun to get a firm grasp on themselves.
To put it another way, the Oprah show wasn’t about autism. It was about Jenny McCarthy. It was to sell copies of her book. Her appearance on People magazine is to increase book sales. Her upcoming appearance on Larry King is to increase book sales. None of it is about _autism_ . None of this will help the autism community. Even that subsection of the autism community who are anti-vaccine are kidding themselves if they think that after the dust settles on Jenny McCarthy’s book she will be around to lead them in their fight. Until its time for the sequel of course.
Is the autism community really so shallow that we are going into raptures because a celeb is speaking about a subject that vast majority of us could speak much more accurately and eloquently about? It seems some of us are.
In the meantime, whilst Jenny McCarthy is being lucratively controversial on Oprah, the vast majority of autistic kids are still not getting the right kind of educational placement. Whilst Jenny McCarthy’s Media Clean Up Crew are attempting hoover away every mention of her Indigo Children beliefs from the web lest they affect book sales, autistic adults are still struggling to get into appropriate work and living accommodations.
I would urge autism parents to spend the ten quid they were going to spend on Jenny McCarthy’s book on something that might actually help autistic people instead of helping line the pockets of Jenny McCarthy.
Left Brain Right Brain 
Fair enough!
Completely agree.
When the dust settles from this it will be interesting to see what chabges–if anything.
The people who have been working hard to get autism research funding are probably wondering if the future looks something like this:
“Senator, we propose a (really lot of) Dollars for the ‘we are still combating autism act'”
“Well, I was talking to Jenny and it looks like Evan is your science”.
Matt
So true Kev so true!!! I read the People article when you have an autistic kid everyone you know starts dropping off copies of this stuff. I have two copies now. Jenny admits in her article that her last book was promoted because she had to make money to pay for Evan’s in home therapy that was costing $2,250 a week or $75 an hour or 100k per year however you slice it. i don’t know very many people who can shell out 100k each year for top notch therapy do you? while she is complaining about how celebritiesd have money woes too (yes she did in her article) and how having an autistic child kicked her ass so she won’t be having anymore children (also said that). The rest of us know what real money woes feel like, NEVER BEING ABLE TO AFFORD NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE TRY 100K PER YEAR IN HOME THERAPY. ya know, autism didn’t kick my ass either. we have other kids who happen to be NT. R is part of the family, most of the therapy we provide is real life, a real childhood. We don’t shelter R from going places and experiencing the same things as other children. R is part of the family and being autistic is just part of the package of who R is. i have gotten compliments from school professionals on how R transitions well and R has imagination and R has big vocabulary. you know the NT’s kick my ass too.
Well said and I couldn’t agree with you more. What really bothers me about all this is the way some people are becoming so enthralled with her and her “message” when, quite frankly, she really doesn’t have much of a message in the first place.
I had to shut Oprah off before they got halfway through (the comment about how parents insist the kids are “kids with autism” and in no instances should be called “autistic kids” drove me over the edge.)
The next day my dentist had it showing in his waiting room…worse than the dental work itself.
Well said, Kev. Excellent post.
As I’m finding out on my blog right now with my Jenny McCarthy post, there is a pretty split camp. There are those that totally agree that she’s just out the trying to make money on her book. And there are those out there that are having their “causes” boosted by this publicity and will probably soon have their pocketbooks boosted too.
I never knew that a diet would be so controversial and I’m amazed at the number of people who are just so fanatical about it, that they think you’re Satan if you don’t try it on your kid. And of course, there’s the “Well, Jenny’s doing it….”
It’s almost borderline cultish. Pretty scary.
In my opinion, Jenny and Oprah have just made my job a hell of a lot more difficult. Not only do I have people literally sitting on my blog waiting to argue with me and everyone else, but I have to deal with questions from everyone that asks, “Did you just see Oprah!? Is it true that not vaccinating your kids and feeding them this diet will cure or keep them from getting autism?!!”
Like I’ve got time to deal with that.
Amen, Erica. Amen. I guess we should start getting our act in gear and start writing our books to pay for our kids’ therapy too, huh? 😉
I’d be all for the “celebritization of expertise”. It’s the “implied expertise of celebrities” that gets me.
Yeah, she used Google. Has she ever seen the link for scholar.google.com or just the ads for “treatements”?
Many people think that an Autism conference is a place where people who sell treatments present “studies” those same treatments.
Would you like some GFCF fries with your McResearch?
Do any of you have children with Autism? Forget that she’s a celebrity. If something worked for you, wouldn’t you want everyone to know? You’re very cold hearted to say that she’s only doing this for the money. Shame on you. What if this was a no name person stating the same facts? Would you disregard that too? Would you still be writing the same things? Her celebrity can only bring more attention to what has been neglected for so many years. 1 in 150 children! Someone needs to start listening.
We all have kids with autism, yes. What facts is she stating? Did you even read my post?
It is the “same old same old” that McCarthy has been proclaiming about on Oprah etc.—-if one has followed DAN! for the past decade (prior to McCarthy’s son’s birth), one can say that she has not contributed anything new to the discussion.
http://parenting.ivillage.com/mom/0,,93prn1s9,00.html
‘It’s a rare parenting book that describes labor as “blowing out your vagina” and condones popping in Teletubbies when you’re hungover. But that’s Jenny McCarthy for you.”
…
“What’s funny about being a mom?
Everything! Your clothes change, your vanity changes, your conversation (you’re discussing Barney instead of Oprah’s latest hairdo) changes. And what kids say is so honest. Right now, my son is obsessed with boobies. Whenever a little girl walks by, he wants to lift up her shirt. I say, “That’s my boy!””
http://parenting.ivillage.com/mom/0,,93prn1s9-4,00.html
No mention of autism or seizures or Diflucan
“Any traits of yours you hope he inherits?
Definitely my sense of humor. When guys have a sense of humor, it can get them laid. At three years old, though, he can wait a while for that.’
“What about the future? More kids, more books?
Not sure about more kids, definitely more books. We’ll do a Dating Laughs, a Puberty Laughs, a My Husband’s Dead, Now What Do I Do? Laughs. And when Oprah’s tired, I’m going to slip into her chair and take over.”
Min:
I have two autistic children. Your point?
I agree with Mr. Kevin right down to his puncuation.
Moral of this story?
Get a job that keeps you to busy to watch daytime moronic splooosh like Oprah.
Change the channel, start watching more professional wrestling (at least you know its supposed to be obnoxious entertainment) and spend your money on getting good diagnostic evaluation of your child.
Good Point Kevin.
I do not have autistic children but in my wife’s profession as a special Ed teacher she has seen more than most people viewing this blog have likely ever seen.
Point?
If you want valuable information about anything, especially brain or developmental disorders, try to tune out as much raving (as examplified by celeb’s) and television as possible and seek professional advice from Special Education professionals, your local universities and other parents who have found or seem to have found teachers and other professionals that have made an impact on their child’s developmental life.
Too much energy is wasted on what caused the accident and not enough concern seems to be directed at care after the accident(metaphorically speaking).
Yes a truck pulled out in front of your life, but now it is time to deal with advancing the child’s developmental issues so that they can hopefully live a more productive life than they would have when too much time is spent trying to assign cause and most of all blame.
No one really seems to be very concerned with writing books on productively dealing with Autism – finding good edcuational help etc etc.
What the hell good does Jenny MaCarthy or any other instant pudding drink the Kool-aid priestess do by saying she BELIEVES she knows what causes autism when she has a child that already has autism???????
Start plugging more books about education and development because I got news for everybody; Even if they find a smoking gun, it likely won’t do a lot for a child who already has autism.
Sorry I think I started spitting on the laptop there for a minute 😦
celebrity or not she is a mom and have some respect, i dont care what she does if she brings some new research to this 1 in 150 then i thank her for it,i am sure that she did help alot of people going through this that might not have the means to get information,and anyone who thinks that vaccines do not play a part in this is just not paying attention to what is going on for years, if you dont agree with what she says then fine, but to put her down for it is just childish, and if you do not deal with this as part of your life then you shouldnt comment on it to begin with…………….
jaytraci:
it is not putting her down to point out that she is sending people down what could be a dangerous path. At best, she is sending a lot of people down a very fruitless path.
Convincing people to skip vaccinations is something to be taken very seriously. Very.
That isn’t helping, it is hurting.
First, I will begin by saying how greatful I am to Kev and the other bloggers for creating and contributing to this site- it truly has helped clarify the whole vaccine/mercury debate for me, and given me the ammo I need to stand up to other mothers of kids in my daughter’s school, who accuse me of being a horrible parent – all because I refuse to take my child to DAN! doctors or try biomed. One of the mothers who is the biggest proponents of biomed actually chelated her son into kindey failure, but fortunately he didn’t die.
That said, I just read something interesting about JM- or more interestingly, about her current boyfriend, the “autism whisperer”, Jim Carrey. It seems that as of December 2006 he was reported to have been taking introductory classes to Scientology. He also attended Tom Cruises wedding- whether he’s become a full-fledged Scientologist I don’t know, but given that JM enthusiastic promoter of DAN! in her book, thats quite a coincidence, isn’t it?
jaytraci said “anyone who thinks that vaccines do not play a part in this is just not paying attention to what is going on for years,”
Oh, do you have some actual convincing evidence? From what I have seen it was a bunch of research bought and paid for by some personal injury lawyers that was shown to be using false data (Wakefield), or some other guys who are professional experts and are now selling their own cure that is a chemical castrator (Geiers).
How does it help others to make their children more vulnerable to diseases like measles and tetanus? How does it help others to make them spend money that is in short supply on worthless therapies?
Also, remember… my opinions are just as valid as McCarthy’s because I am also a mom!
What I find very encouraging is that when I did my “google research” and googled Jenny McCarthy, The first bunch were all about her movies or porn, etc, and the last one on the first page was Kev’s blog.
“Jenny McCarthy autism” has Kev at the top of the results and the hub blogs and other skeptical blogs are outnumbering the pro-ex-Indigomom websites by two or three to one.
http://www.snarkygossip.com/2007/04/27/jenny-mccarthys-son-has-been-diagnosed-with-autism/
They say the hub bloggers are mean!
If you click on the GR ad doesn’t it cost them some money?
There’s a mostly great comment on celebrity baby blog from a genetics researcher at UCLA
http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/04/jenny_mccarthy.html
It’s a long comment, heres’ the last part.
“3) Finally, a comment on “Indigo Children”. I can’t claim to be an expert on them, but then no one else can either. I will say that as an expert in genetics, though, ANY statements that Indigo’s are a new wave in human evolution are pure fantasy. There is simply zero–thats 0.000—evidence that these children are any genetically different than similar such children who were being born 100 or 1000 years ago. This is just stuff someone pulled out of thin air (likely inside their head)…. You don’t need Indigo children crap to believe that every child is unique and valuable, and has things that make them special in positive ways, even though others may simply label them disabled. There is no need to proclaim them to be from a
spiritual super-race to gain respect for them—better to just promote the idea that all people have basic human dignity that should be respected and that all people have qualities that should be cherished, and we need to affirm this especially for those impacted by disabilities.”
I have a great deal of respect for mothers as well as some fathers of autistic children that continue to do a remarkable job raising thier children in the most difficult of circumstances (the unknown condition).
Like Kev said, “did you even read my post?” This isn’t about Ms. McCarthy, respect for mothers, or even me; this is about getting to the bottom of a developmental disorder.
Sorry, no disrespect toward Ms. McCarthy or Ms. Winfrey but the Oprah show is not what I would consider to be an objective forum for the advancement of understanding in developmental disorders.
“Also, remember… my opinions are just as valid as McCarthy’s because I am also a mom!”
Any mother of an autistic child (heck any person) starts out with an opinion more valid than Jenny McCarthy’s. When one presents “opinions” that are contradicted by facts, one’s “opinions” are not valid. So, everyone starts out one step ahead of Jenny before they open their mouths.
Of course, many will take a few steps backwards with only a few words.
Ms. McCarthy was also on “The View” on 9/25 – I think it is interesting that as a celebrity there was no mention of a portion of the proceeds of the book going to “xyz autism charity” – seems like that would be the next step.
Just wanted to mention diet is very important and I don’t understand why someone would think it’s funny that Jenny would mention that after all you are what you eat and with all the crap we consume today it’s no wonder we’re all sick or dropping dead. Diet changes everything.
The bottom line is educate yourself. There is a lot of people in the world with varying opinions. Even in the medical community you will find different opinions. You have to find out as much information you can from someone you trust and go with it. Yes vaccines are needed! Are they harmful. Maybe they are to some children. I do believe in the diet!! I would like to try it out just to see if there is a change in my 7 yr. old. I will still vaccinate. Jenny Mcarthy said she would like to see a test to see if babies can handle the vaccines. Sounds good to me. Maybe some babies systems aren’t developed enough at the time of birth.
Jenny Mcarthy said she would like to see a test to see if babies can handle the vaccines.
How exactly is that test going to be accomplished? Right on babies themselves? Lab testing on rats and mice first? Oh my god, someone think of the rodents!
What an awesome forum! So glad I found this, especially after watching Jenny McCarthy on Oprah. A friend dropped off her book the next day and I’m trying to read it without judgment so I can give my best take on it. Anyway, I felt the Oprah show was irresponsible and that McCarthy contradicted herself several times. She claimed that vaccines caused the autism in her son, while at the same time admitted to missing the “clues” from the very beginning. In her book, she characterizes the mothers who aren’t into the “alternative” therapies as glum and gloomy. Maybe compared to moms who are like her (borderline nuts), we who are rational come off that way. I just hope Oprah takes a responsible tact by inviting on guests who are rational and scientific in order to provide some fairness to this lopsided portrayal of autism therapies. And to the mom who had to turn off Oprah when her guest came to the semantic BS about “children with autism” versus “autistic children” I say, right on! My kid is an autistic child and I’m okay with that!
I just finished reading Jennys book and her struggle to help her kid is inspiring. And her going on Oprah is yes to promote the book and yes to make money its her JOB but also to in some way to educate people about autism. Think about it not many people know anything about autism, and if a celebrity can bring awareness to this cause by writing a book and bringing it to the publics attention why is everyone complaining. People are going on about how she pays $100000 for the best treatment, well you know what good for her wouldnt you do the same thing if you could. I know only to well the struggles with the cost of IBI,ABA speech,OT therapists . YOu guys are only saying these things because she is a celebrity, forgetting that she did it all by herself she researched everything, tried everything, paid for everything ,would do anything. Stop worrying about how jenny pays for her sons treatment and focus on your own kids.
Matt said “Any mother of an autistic child (heck any person) starts out with an opinion more valid than Jenny McCarthy’s. When one presents “opinions” that are contradicted by facts, one’s “opinions” are not valid. So, everyone starts out one step ahead of Jenny before they open their mouths.”
Of course, I have actually looked at the literature and “facts”. I have read several books on neurology, special ed. issues and vaccines. These include William Calvin’s _Conversations with Neil’s Brain_, Hager-Cohen’s _Train Go Sorry_, Spradley’s _Dear Like ME_, almost all of Oliver Sacks’ books, a couple of Temple Grandin’s books, Offit’s _The Cutter Incident_ and _Vaccinated_, Allen’s _Vaccine_, Kurcinka’s _Raising Your Spirited Child_ (which described younger son perfectly) and several others (I just got _This is Your Brain on Music_ by Daniel Levitin from the library). I have participated in online discussions for over ten years (my son who had seizures, developmental problems and is presently down with a migraine is 19 years old)…
… and most importantly I know that the links in the corner of the Google search page are ADVERTISEMENTS!!!!
And who in their right mind believes ads only contain facts?
Jenny M’s kid still looks on the spectrum to me. On the view she said he is recovered. i have to stop following this melodrama
“Recovered” often means “recovering”. Developing often means “recovering”. The logic is that if a kid has progressed in their skills to an extent, they just need to keep progressing to become neurotypical.
If a child doesn’t speak and then speaks, that’s often called “recovery” as well. This means that at least 50% of non-verbal autistics eventually recover.
If something works why wouldnt you want to shout it from the roof top?
“too much energy is spent on the cause” stated by Uncle Dave –
That is the most ridiculous statement I’ve ever heard/read.
Which Koolaid do you prefer we drink from: the medical fields that doesn’t even want to discuss openly the connection that many have witnessed over vaccinations and flu shots and that everything is fine or the “koolaid” of those who are in the trenches looking to fix things?
Jenny never said to do away with vaccinating children – she did say that the calendar should be looked at as to how many kids get at one time AND that “energy” should be spent on testing for possible genetics that may show a possible bad reaction to a vaccination.
If something works why wouldnt you want to shout it from the roof top?
That’s not the problem obviously. Part of the problem is assuming something works based on testimonials and anecdotes most likely explained by coincidence and self-deception. More importantly, the problem is promoting said unproven treatments as if they were known to work, profiting from them, and potentially hurting children with them.
i love how you all are going after this person who has a different idea on how to handle this disease when nothing else has helped her. all that i have read none of you that have anything to say dont disclaim her from actual experiences that you have had all you have to say is how she pisses you off because she has money and she uses it and even with her money it still isnt enough. instead of using her like she is herself and raising awareness of this disease and the expenses of it. all you can do is bitch and complain about how blonde she is or wealthy she is. open your eyes and your mind. now i dont agree with how she is saying her son is a success already only time will tell but nothing i have found that says that changing a childs diet to match her sons diet is detremental to a childs well being. like it or not which if you have a loved one with autism or any other disease where little hope can be found you should be happy that there is someone actively looking for something that works and not just taking what although well educated one train of thought or way of thinking. its little expirements like this that brought along many of the medical advances that we have today. so before you discredit ms. mccarthy even though you dont agree with her or her “expirement” you all should wait and see where it takes her son.
I agree with Tammy and several others who replied here. Jenny is a celebrity & yes is making money on her new book. However, her son is almost a mirror of what my son was. Sorry but I have to agree that vaccines did harm my son and I know several thousands of other moms who say the same thing, and I’m not talking about celebrity moms like Jenny, every day moms like you & me. We aren’t trying to “blame” our kids’ autism on something, we just want to have a safer vaccine schedule. We also know our kids aren’t just “born that way” nor is it 100% genetic. There are so many environmental issues involved. We also are paying for everything out of pocket, very very expensive but has it been worth it? It has & then some. Our son is also recovering. His speech has come so far with DAN & biomed & yes the diet was the first thing we tried & it was so amazing how much it helped. I would have to say to the naysayers on this board that unless you’ve walked in our shoes & have traveled down our path then you don’t know what we know. I’m not listening to the medical community’s research & scientific data, I have my very own little boy for proof! And so do so many others.
Also, to the person who posted all the books that you’ve read regarding vaccines, try these:
Evidence of Harm by David Kirby and
A Shot in the Dark and
What your doctor won’t tell you about vaccines.
The last 2 I’m not sure right off who the authors are.
Finally, we all have so much work to do with our kids. If we want to raise happy healthy kids, we need to get busy. And I think so many of us want to point fingers at DAN or this therapy or that, when in reality, if it works for your kid, great! That’s all we really want, right?
I think everyone should stop dogging her and focusing on her celebrity status and use what she is trying to say to benefit not only yourself or you child..but society as a whole. Obviously nobody is paying attention to “regular people” that have been dealing with this issue for years. Maybe it takes a famous person speaking out to get the ball rolling for something to get accomplished. As much as we hate to admit it…this is how our disfunctional society operates. But, bottom line is…she still has a child with autism. So I would expect a little more compassion from people in general…..especially the ones that have autistic children themselves.
“If something works why wouldnt you want to shout it from the roof top?”
How do you know that “something” worked, versus what would happen with the development over time?
Tammie continues: “the medical fields that doesn’t even want to discuss openly the connection that many have witnessed over vaccinations and flu shots”
Uh, excuse me? Have you even checked http://www.pubmed.gov and put in “vaccine autism” or whatever in the search fields? It has been studied, and studied, and looked at… and yet, still there has been no _real_ evidence that points to vaccines as a cause of autism or other developmental disabilities.
If you have some actual factual documented evidence that vaccines have been shown to cause such harm, please present it. Don’t just say it exists, but refuse to post what it is.
JM is pointing at the MMR vaccine. That particular vaccine has been in use in the United States since 1971. Where is the spike in disabilities in the USA starting in 1971? What studies show that is dangerous? Do those studies use more than a dozen children not supplied by the personal injury lawyer, done by a qualified team with a real pediatrics staff and have not used contaminated PCR tests? Come on… you say they exist… TELL US about them! Give us the author, title, journal, and title so we can go to the library and read them.
There has been plenty of evidence to show that the actually diseases cause disability and death. Take for instance the book I read by the Spradley brothers. It is called _Deaf Like Me_, and has to do with an epidemic of rubella in the early 1960s. Or how about why Roald Dahl dedicated his book _The BFG_ to his oldest daughter who died from measles.
Did you know that there used to be schools just for kids who were deaf and/or blind? The major causes for those disabilities were actually measles, mumps and rubella. Are those schools as abundant as they used to be? For that you might read Leah Cohen Hager’s _Train Go Sorry_.
Do you think the low level of those diseases will stay if MMR is called the “autism shot”? Look at the UK, it has experienced a resurgence of mumps and rubella. Do you think the USA is immune to that happening? It is not… between 1989 and 1991 over 120 Americans died from measles, and just last summer at least four people became deaf from mumps.
Now I ask you again: What REAL evidence do have for vaccines being the cause of autism?
Rose said: “Also, to the person who posted all the books that you’ve read regarding vaccines, try these:
Evidence of Harm by David Kirby and
A Shot in the Dark and
What your doctor won’t tell you about vaccines.”
I would question your taste in reading material.
First off, David Kirby was a journalist who was paid to write that book. It has been thoroughly discredited by several. Just check the archives of this blog. He is also the guy who claimed that autism would go down since thimerosal was removed. Has it? Or is he moving goal posts.
Neither author of _Shot in the Dark_ have any expertise in the field, and Barbara Loe Fisher’s organization can best be called the “National Vaccine MISinformation Center”.
I would suggest you learn how to use PubMed and learn to use a critical eye to some of the books you have read.
scientists and neurologists will tell you that we still don’t know everything there is to know about auto-immune diseases. They think auto-immune diseases develop because of a “genetic predisposition” and that some environmental factor triggers an immune response that results in having the auto immune disease. My son was diagnosed with Autism at age 3 (even though I knew something was wrong at age 2). Intense diet and therapy worked. He is now 11 years old and mainstreamed into school. I would not say he was “cured”, but he has recovered. I did this 8-9 years ago and it worked. She just wants to share her story in the hopes that she can help someone else….
So because she is a celebrity she has nothing valid to say in this area? Believe it or not she is not he first or the last to find that autism can be reversed. She is also not the only one to see that vaccines play a large role in brain injuries.
Tiffany said “So because she is a celebrity she has nothing valid to say in this area? ”
Uh, no… many of us are looking at what she says and finding many deficits in fact. Read the posting again. Take note of these statements:
“told her audience that her son was her science (quite possibly the silliest thing on the show since Tom Cruise’s couch/brain malfunction).”
and
“Her upcoming appearance on Larry King is to increase book sales. None of it is about autism . None of this will help the autism community.”
and
“Whilst Jenny McCarthy’s Media Clean Up Crew are attempting hoover away every mention of her Indigo Children beliefs from the web lest they affect book sales, autistic adults are still struggling to get into appropriate work and living accommodations.”
and finally…
“I would urge autism parents to spend the ten quid they were going to spend on Jenny McCarthy’s book on something that might actually help autistic people instead of helping line the pockets of Jenny McCarthy.”
What I do is give money to the charity that provided my son several years of intensive speech therapy for free:
http://www.scottishrite.org/what/phil/rc-directory.html
As a result of the Oprah show airing, I am now researching thimerosal and its other possibly negative effects. I called a manufacturer and found out this chemical is a common preservative and is 50% ethel mercury which is POISONOUS! I hope Jenny reads this as I need to contact her to discuss my thoughts and ideas for research.
Tiffany:
So because she is a celebrity she has nothing valid to say in this area? Believe it or not she is not he first or the last to find that autism can be reversed. She is also not the only one to see that vaccines play a large role in brain injuries.
She is not a person who has shown any of this, though. She “believes”, but she does not know or
Using celebrity to tell what you believe is fine if you believe in an excercise regimine or something. If you believe in something that could cause people to suffer from preventable diseases, you should wait until you know.
You don’t yell “fire” in a crowded building. You don’t go on talkshows and say that vaccines are causing autism.
Check this blog–you will note that Bernard Rimland discussed that in some cases autism spontaneously reverses. It is well known to the regular readers here.
It isn’t the fact that some people’s symptoms lessen with time–even to the point of losing a diagnosis. The fact that it happens and that it happens over a long period of time makes it very ripe for the placebo effect.
Ah, “Dawn” wants us to chase the Thimerosal red herring.
Okay so your dismissing what she says works for her child. If it works what he wasnt really diagnosised correctly?
My point on the medical field explaining the vaccines is in regard to the fact that docs have you sign your initials to a sheet when your baby comes in for a shot, gives you a few forms that may or may not explain what you are signing and no word about reactions that linger or show up AFTER a 2 week period that they admit they have studied – sorry that is not enough 2 way discussion – and again it is not a discussion to rule out vaccinations, not at all, the point is one side is so busy telling us what it ISNT that they completely disregard whats right in our face.
Coincidence is not an answer when the coincidence happens over and over and over again. This pertains to “just a coincendence that little johnny reacted to a shot and then changed” just like it pertains to “gee johnny got better when I changed his diet, or gave him a supplement his body was lacking”.
At some point the information has to be included as hey maybe this plays a role in the cause and hey maybe these changes are a way to help.
Making a broad general statement and dismissing it all because you are famous or because you are a mother deemed hysterical does no one any good.
scientists and neurologists will tell you that we still don’t know everything there is to know about auto-immune diseases
Scientists and neurologists will also tell you that researchers have put a lot of time into the vaccine/autism proposed link and found no connection.
That’s the difference between Scientists and Celebrities–one group actually does the work to find the facts. The other group sits on couches and sells books filled with their “beliefs”.