Mcjenny, you do not speak for me.

Jenny McCarthy seems to spend an awful lot of time telling the world how she is our voice, she speaks for Us. Us, as in parents of, and children with, Autism.

McJenny, you are not my voice. You do NOT speak for me. You do a great disservice to the Autism community in general. I'm thrilled for you that your little one was "cured" but I'd rather focus on treating my own child than obsessing about why he is Autistic, and desperately trying to force some semblance of a "cure" on him. Honestly, it's wonderful if her child was "cured." But (and I may be wrong) my thought is that for the most part, the kids who get "cured" are the ones who were so high functioning in the first place that it didn't take a hell of a lot to get them where they needed to be. Kids like Jaymes, or Leelo seem much less likely to be "cured" in the same manner as McJenny's kid.

I worry about the many parents who will hear McJenny blathering on about her recovered child (recovered from what? Addiction? An infection? Autism isn't an illness, it is a difference in the wiring of the brain) and decide without bothering to educate themselves, to not vaccinate, to use their children as lab rats for invasive treatments with zero scientific proof (chelation comes to mind) all because some pretty celebrity told them to do it. Or the parents who are filled with false hope of one day having an entirely "normal" child, and later down the line realize that it just isn't happening. The letdown is harsh- I started out as one of those myself.

If you have the money for all the vitamin/supplement/dietary stuff, go for it. You're unlikely to damage your child that way, and some (though not the majority) do improve as a result. Jaymes did not, and I have to wonder if some of the parents who are 100% gung-ho about the DAN! stuff are imagining improvement where there isn't really much. Doctors endorse things that -work-. I was talked into trying GFCF by our pediatrician back in Florida, because he thought it might help. He did not, however, suggest that vitamins and special foods would be some magical cure.

The people I had pushing the alternative stuff on me- chelation, vitamins, supplements- were people who would profit from it. The nutritionist who had hundreds of dollars worth of vitamins for sale, the crazy chirpractor with her very own chelation set up. None of this was payable by insurance- no, these were hefty prices that went right into these people's pockets. They were promising a cure, which should have tipped me off immediately. Of course they'll go on and on about the wonderful benefits- it's their job, their income. They don't give a rats ass about your child. People like this prey upon the desperate and the uneducated for the almighty dollar. Maybe someone has met one who will do free chelation for the poor?

I keep hearing this argument that doctors are in it for the money, and the herbalists and chelation folks are trying to save our kids... But Jaymes' doc makes very little from Medicaid, and spends tons of time with him anyway. The herbalists get every cent of their exorbitant fees. Seems like they're making more off their wares than the docs are off vaccinating Medicaid kids.

I will always swear by the things that I've seen proven- Speech and Occupational therapy, a structured routine, and medication as needed. Alternative therapies that have a proven success rate- music therapy, hippotherapy, pool time. ABA, though we have not experienced it ourselves due to lack of funding.

The day I see real, scientific proof that vaccines cause Autism, that chelation cures Autism, that therapeutic foot baths cleanse the brain... I'll admit that I was wrong, and I will explore some of those things. Not until I see proof. Not some outdated study that's been proven bullshit, not some desperate parents trying to find someone to blame, who could afford a good enough lawyer to win a lawsuit that all sides knew was just a ploy to make money and publicity for the anti-vaccine movement.

I'm all for the whole Green our Vaccines thing. Safer vaccines are nothing to complain about. By all means, everything should be constantly working towards being safer. I'm all for staggering the vaccine schedule, rather than doing a ton at once. I'm also for responsible parenting, and I will always vaccinate.

Once again, McJenny, you speak for no one but yourself. Enjoy your child, take pride in your accomplishment. Jaymes isn't broken, he doesn't need to be fixed. He needs help to learn, function, and be a happy member of society, but he is NOT broken or deficient in any way. I work towards helping him, not "fixing" him.

To those parents who have found McJenny a source of inspiration and hope, and who are doing their best to help their child while remaining educated and informed about the various treatments, good for you!