Aspies For Freedom

I haven't seen videos of this child but would like to know if he is officially diagnosed with autism. It isn't uncommon for children to be mostly non-verbal when they are two, especially little boys.

Or how about BOHF (Boring overexposed has-been female)

JPCMich - there is a difference between good publicity and bad publicity. And this is bad, especially when there are many parents who are in parts of the country with inadequate support and resources - and fall for this "cure" BS. McCarthy is playing a big role in this, and it is NOT a good thing. It is a BAD thing - because it holds up the understanding of the Autistic Spectrum.

I would suggest if anyone needs to "grow up" it's likely to be you.

I missed the videos (they were shown when McCarthy first showed up on Larry King) so I don't know. But it wouldn't surprise me if an incorrect DX was made. It would be a great idea if someone called her out on it - and I think a great place to do it would be on CNN. Now THAT would be sensational - calling out a tabloid darling like McCarthy!

We are not closed minded. As far as I can see no-one has put words in your mouth.

If you are a friend of Ms McCarthy and wish to defend her, please do so here.

Whatever you may be thinking right now, I do like to get both sides of a story.

At the moment I have the impression that Ms McCarthy is exploiting her son for commercial gain. It is the belief of myself and many here that such behaviour is reprehensible.

Also, she has been cited as backing somewhat dubious practices and peculiar beliefs.

If you are of the opinion that there are sound scientific reasons for such backing, again, I would love it if you were to quote them here.

And it would help us to follow your arguments if you were to address them to whichever person has upset you, as otherwise your posts give the impression that you are addressing us all.

If anybody isn't too bright, it certainly isn't Tigger or any of the rest of us. I also stand by my previous description of Jenny McCarthy as a BOHF. Is "awareness" the same as the old term "consciousness-raising"?

It is sad, really.

Apparently, jpcmich is the parent of a two year old daughter who shows signs of being autistic.

With a little thought, respect and understanding on both sides, we may have been able to help.

Sadly, jpcmich started off by being aggressive, instead of asking us why we hold such views; and decided to blame us for retaliating to the abuse.

It didn't help that jpcmich seems to have a completely different definition of 'cure' than the rest of us!

And listening to cranks who have already been discredited - and in the process reversing that trend. I know this is cruel but bluntly parents who go down that line are being blinded and as a result forgetting about their AUTISTIC child completely. They are concerned for their NT child who has been brain damaged - that's their line. It's garbage and completely unacceptable.

And there is a huge difference between McCarthy, and Fox and Reeve. McCarthy doesn't have the problem she's campaigning about. Fox and Reeve do/did.

I'm sure if McCarthy was on the Spectrum herself and knew it she'd take a completely different view - unless she went into denial of course (and I've seen that happen at least once!).

Please don't leave, jpcmich - just because a few people here got upset. I understand why you are angry, but you have just discovered what we all have. The diagnosis doesn't change the child we've got; the diagnosis simply explains their behaviour to others.

I'm sure that you will be welcome here, and I'm sorry if people over-reacted to your fear and anger.

I hope you don't mind, but I think you and your daughter might be needing a few of these:

GREAT
BIG
GRANNY HUG!

Oh, please do come more often! And post more often too.

We Aspie parents of Aspies love to read about what life is like in neurodiverse households!

Jeff, I tried the link to your site, but it didn't work...

Even if autism had no positive aspects, it wouldn't be right to try to cure it, if you define "cure" as "make an autistic person indistinguishable from a neurotypical person".

That's because autism is so very wound up with personality and way of thinking that a cure is more like brainwashing or a lobotomy than any sort of compassionate medicine... It would change an autistic person so very completely that it would be like killing them and replacing them with a typical twin. It would mean having no respect for who they are and how they think.

But there is a difference between, "I don't want to be cured," and "I don't want help." For many people, autism is a disability. For most others, it has its downside. Various sorts of therapy can help autistic people--whether that's speech therapy for a nonverbal youngster, or tutoring in job-interview skills for a recent college grad. Various chemicals can help, too--a stimulant for ADHD symptoms, or a sedative for insomnia, or various psychotropic medications for comorbid mental illness, et cetera--but always with the caveat that pills are not a cure-all, meant to enhance therapy or education, not to replace it. A healthy diet can help any autistic person; and those of us with sensitivity or allergies or even celiac disease can benefit from eliminating various substances from the diet. But diet isn't a cure-all; it's a way of ensuring that you are as healthy as you can possibly be.

Autism treatment is not something I oppose, and I think the majority of the neurodiversity movement could say the same. The trouble is when autism treatment becomes not an attempt to help someone interact and adjust and maximize his potential, but an attempt to make him more normal, especially at the expense of function. The somewhat derogatory term "curebie" describes someone whose primary aim is normalcy, who believes that what is normal is necessarily what is best, who believes that the more normal you are, the happier you are... These are all fallacies... True happiness comes when you know who you are, when you have a place in the world where you are accepted and capable.

"You always think you're right" isn't an insult. It's a statement of fact. It is impossible to think that you are wrong, because by doing so you change your opinion. The only partial exception is denial, but even with that it is still impossible to consciously think you are wrong.

A better statement should be, "You show disdain for ideas you think are wrong." Because that can go either way--you can respect someone's idea even if you think they are wrong.

Good one!

Nice post. I dunno about the whole fake diagnosis deal, but I think she IS using this as a publicity magnet to get her into the limelight. I also agree the "magical diet" is pretty stupid.

I do hope, for her son's sake, she calms down and accepts him for who he is. If not, I see him in about ten years being either rebellious or depressed or both. You tend to get that way if you never seem to be able to do anything properly.