Dr. Jenny, Reporting for Duty!

Being that my career has focused quite heavily in the field of Autism, I consider myself quite the expert. This of course entitles me to go on and on about things I know minimally about, yet should still be taken seriously. On the other hand, Jenny McCarthy has not spent her professional career in the field of Autism, so anything she has to say should be quickly disregarded. Now if I was looking for advice on Playboy Modeling or perhaps how to host a cheesy dating show, then I would take what Ms. McCarthy had to say as pure gold!

Are you a little lost? Let me give you some background...

A few years ago, Jenny McCarthy "decided" that her son had Autism, and quickly blamed the MMR vaccine (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) as the cause of Autism. I find this laughable as many people without Autism have received the same vaccine as a child. Let alone more boys than girls have Autism, as much as 4-1, yet the girls also receive the vaccine as a child as well. Laughable yes? WELL, many parents jumped on the blonde bandwagon and stopped vaccinating their young children. May I also remind you that Autism continues to grow at amazing rates? May I also remind you that this was a Playboy celebrity making these claims, not doctors? Needless to say, the vaccines became blamed for causing Autism.

It should also be noted that so many people did indeed jump on this bandwagon, as Jenny McCarthy did claim to "cure" her son's Autism. One cannot cure a development disorder, but do I need to tell you that? So now she is 0 for 2, yet people nationwide hail her as the go to person on Autism.

Jump ahead a few years and MAGICALLY a study shows there is NO LINK between vaccines and Autism! To me this makes perfect sense, but some parents, 1 in 4 to be specific still held on to the crazy belief that Ms. McCarthy put into their small little minds. But just to add more controversy to her claims...HER SON DOES NOT EVEN HAVE AUTISM! She shook the world with her biased claims, she then magically cured Autism in her son, when as it turns out her son never had Autism (which is why she felt she cured him with hugs and reading)!

Little 7 year old Evan has Landau-Kleffner syndrome, “a rare childhood neurological disorder that can also result in speech impairment and possible long-term neurological damage.” This particular disorder shows many of the same signs as Autism, especially at a young age. However, as the child progresses with age, it appears less like Autism, perhaps causing an unsuspecting parent to believe she has cured Autism.

So there you have it! Jenny McCarthy really should stick to taking off her clothes in front of the camera and let researchers, teachers, doctors, behaviors therapists and psychologists stick to the world of Autism. As a former educational therapist in an Autism classroom, I am glad this news has surfaced and hope that parents of children with Autism can go back to having some realistic views and ideas about the disorder.