Thanks Jenny McCarthy and your autism whispering boyfriend Jim Carey...oh, and John Travolta too..

I get the, "What are your thoughts on Jenny McCarthy?" question frequently. While she is creating public awareness about autism, and I GREATLY applaud that, I believe she may also be giving the public a lot of misinformation. She has theories, but they aren't necessarily fact simply because they worked for her son (diet, specialized therapies). I think diet (Gluten Casein Free) and certain therapies can be extremely beneficial in reducing the symptoms of autism, but again, I feel there is no cure. I am thrilled that she believes her boy was cured...more so that she has a healthy, thriving son. And I would never discourage any parent from trying anything they feel would help their child (excluding anything harmful, such as chelation.) I'm afraid however, that she may actually be giving false hope to parents out there with autistic children. But like Jenny McCarthy, I am not a doctor or a medical scientist / researcher...I am a mother, just like her, with an opinion (and like assholes, everyone has at least one...). One thing listeners of Jenny have to realize, is money helps when being an autism whisperer. Jenny was married to a mega rich banker man...their marriage ended with her being "financially functioning" so to speak (realizing she could never have possibly survived simply on her own earnings from the multitude of books, movies, television and Playboy stints). Jenny can afford the utmost of whats available...she even has a round the clock, one on one therapist for little Evan...the therapies she prescribes to are excellent, and costly, and largely unavailable to the "typical" autistic parent (especially in Florida, where I live). And face it folks, the names Jenny and Jim get shit done!

I never intended to really discuss religion here, but since Scientology in my opinion isn't a religion, it's a Non Profit Cult based on a Science Fiction book, it's fair game! Scientology teaches that mental illness does not exist and that problems should be resolved using spiritual healing, not drugs...m'kay, hang on friends, I need to go pop a quick xanex to curtail my anger and irritation here before I continue...

28 minutes later...

okay, feelin' the love again... The tragedy that John Travolta and Kelly Preston recently experienced in losing their son is horrific, it's every parent's nightmare realized. To further exacerbate the tragedy by failing to acknowledge their son's autism, however, is crying shame. The Scientology community does not believe in the medical condition (or any other for that matter, which is why that great alien in the sky calls for so many of their non medicated and untreated children..). Being the parent of 2 autistic boys, I can pretty much look at most auties and plainly see it, the autism. This was the case for John and Kelly's boy...one look, and I knew. Their family opted to blame Kawasaki's Disease for their 16 year old son's illness. This "acceptable" Scientological illness is a condition which causes inflammation of the vital organs and blood vessels and occurs almost exclusively in infants and toddlers. They blamed their constant carpet cleaning as the source of his illness. Although Jett Travolta suffered from convulsions, Kawasaki's does not usually result in seizures and sufferers do not usually have it for years. Many auties are susceptible to seizures; I realize how lucky I am to not have this added stress with our sons. Their boy, however, experienced such a seizure and ended up hitting his head. Initially, the rumor mill said Travolta & Preston would leave the "church" of Scientology. This never did happen. That "religions" failure to acknowledge any medical realities is truly just asinine. I was saddened at the missed opportunity to teach and inform the public, whose attention was greatly focused on their family, and to make one tiny shred of positivity come from this tragedy. I will not, however, take one moment from their loss and suffering with my humble opinions, as it is theirs solely to deal with.