Posted on 09/27/2007 11:53:48 PM PDT by L.A.Justice
Jenny McCarthy vividly remembers the harrowing realization three years ago that her son Evan, now 5, had autism.
"It started with hand flapping," McCarthy, 34, told Oprah Winfrey on Tuesday's show. There were other telltale indications in her child's behavior, but as McCarthy said, "You only look for the good signs."
Then came the day when Evan suffered a seizure, which doctors – once she got him to the hospital – blamed on a fever. Three weeks later, however, Evan got "a stoned look on his face" while McCarthy and the boy were visiting her parents.
This was another seizure, she thought, "but this one is different. He's not convulsing." Instead, "foam was coming out of his mouth, (and) and after a few minutes, I felt his heart stop," she said.
When the paramedics arrived, she told them about Evan's heart. "They looked at me like I was crazy. I don't know why," she said. Only, as they discovered for themselves, the child's heart was no longer beating, so they administered CPR.
"Why, God? Why me ... Why? Why? Why?" McCarthy recalled thinking in those desperate moments, but then, she said, an inner voice came over her. "Everything's going to come out okay."
Because there was no pediatric hospital near her parents' home, Evan and McCarthy drove three hours back to Los Angeles, during which time Evan suffered several more seizures.
Initially, neurologists believed Evan had epilepsy, by McCarthy's "mommy instinct," as she called it, thought that not to be the case. Finally, a doctor said to her, "'I'm sorry, but your son has autism.' My mommy instinct said, 'This man is right.' I didn't want to believe him ... but ... this man is right. I felt like death."
McCarthy, however, sprung into action. She researched autism on the Internet and was struck by a message that popped up in a corner of the screen. Autism, it told her, "is reversible and treatable."
She worked diligently with her son, putting him on a wheat-free, dairy-free and artificial-additive-free diet to detox his system, and her mantra – which she says is producing results – is "hope, faith, recovery."
McCarthy, who first revealed Evan's condition last May on The View, has put her experiences down in a just-published book, Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism.
Evan is McCarthy's son with director John Asher. The couple divorced in 2005, after six years of marriage – which, McCarthy told Winfrey, was strained because of their son's condition.
But, McCarthy also said, there's a new man in her life: Jim Carrey. "He's the 'funny, cute guy' in the book," she told Winfrey and the TV audience. And, she stressed, he is there for Evan.
On the Web site for the Oprah show, McCarthy and actress Holly Robinson Peete, who has discussed her own child's autism with PEOPLE, will answer questions related to the condition. Click here.
"Keep going," said McCarthy as final advice to parents of autistic children. "And we're going to be there online."
Her marriage was negatively affected by the son's condition. Too bad...
Such a shame. I wonder why autism appears to be so difficult to diagnose when it is not that uncommon.
bummer. She has a rough road ahead.
She worked diligently with her son, putting him on a wheat-free, dairy-free and artificial-additive-free diet to detox his system, and her mantra – which she says is producing results – is "hope, faith, recovery."
It would be very good to know how this diet helps him.
Wheat and dairy products are not any sort of a natural part of the human diet, at least originally. I present job is next to a large milk processing plant or whatever you’d call it and it’s ruined me for dairy products pretty much for the rest of my life with the possible exception of yogurt.
I guess it’s like working next to a meat packing company. You really don’t want to know what goes on.
>>>”It started with hand flapping,”
>>>”foam was coming out of his mouth, (and) and after a few minutes, I felt his heart stop,”
>>>neurologists believed Evan had epilepsy, by McCarthy’s “mommy instinct,” as she called it, thought that not to be the case. Finally, a doctor said to her, “’I’m sorry, but your son has autism.’
None of this fit my understanding of autism. Looking it up on WebMD:
all people with autism have some core symptoms in the areas of:
* Social interactions and relationships. Symptoms may include:
o Significant problems developing nonverbal communication skills, such as eye-to-eye gazing, facial expressions, and body posture.
o Failure to establish friendships with children the same age.
o Lack of interest in sharing enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people.
o Lack of empathy. People with autism may have difficulty understanding another person’s feelings, such as pain or sorrow.
* Verbal and nonverbal communication. Symptoms may include:
o Delay in, or lack of, learning to talk. As many as 50% of people with autism never speak.2
o Problems taking steps to start a conversation. Also, people with autism have difficulties continuing a conversation once it has begun.
o Stereotyped and repetitive use of language. People with autism often repeat over and over a phrase they have heard previously (echolalia).
o Difficulty understanding their listener’s perspective. For example, a person with autism may not understand that someone is using humor. They may interpret the communication word for word and fail to catch the implied meaning.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/Autism/Autism-Symptoms
I don’t see a thing there about convulsions, cardiac episodes, or foaming of the mouth.
I agree. Something is seriously wrong with this boy but it is not autism. And I wonder about the “heart stopping”...her description doens’t sound as if he should have survived it.
The story isn’t true. There is no way that a child whose heart has stopped and has to be revived by paramedics would be released from a hospital so that the mother could drive the kid 3 hours to another hospital. Period. Didn’t happen as described in the article.
My bullsh*t instinct is pegging out. And Oh By The Way, where are the hot pics? If Jenny McCarthy is making news it is usually in Playboy.
She sounded like an airhead in the article. Autism is trendy, and more and more illnesses are getting diagnosed as such.
I work with Autistic kids on a limited bases and some do have seizure disorders along with other physical problems ....Autism seems to be diagnosis to cover a wide range of problems....
I hope the best for Jenny and her son. The biggest joy I get in working with some of the kids is seeing the changes they make from the beginning of the school year to the end. Our school system is blessed with some wonderful teachers and aids and of course some very involved parents. It really takes a team effort in helping these kids.
The People Magazine article indicates he did not respond to his mom’s affection, never responded to his name, did not sustain eye contact, lined things up to track, engaged in numerous stereotypies. All are indicative of autism.
Every child with autism presents differently than the next.
Their problems are only going to be compounded.
I agree. A great deal of autistic children have seizure disorders. My austistic son has had two seizures in his lifetime (he is 5), but does not have a disorder.
Thank you for your work with our children. You sound like a very dedicated and compassionate teacher, and for that I can’t thank you enough.
Autism is trendy? I had no idea my son was a part of a trend.
It does help some autistic children who have gastro issues and show a sensitivity to these ingredients. I had my son tested for sensitivity to them and he was fine so I did not try this diet.
In a day of Britney’s and Lindsey’s, it is refreshing to see a star who isn’t a self-centered bimbo. I was really impressed with how she raised her child and dealt with his problems. A terrific mother and person.
This child suffered from all the stuff on this list.
That's the problem. Many parents would rather hear that their child has Autism rather than what they actually have, so now Autism has become the Autism "spectrum."
Unfortunately autism has become a catch-all term for any and all mental issues.
People, people, people........let’s look at the source for all these ‘facts’......this is ‘People’ Magazine not the New England Journal of Medicine (which has its own agenda problems)....the magazine is the equivalent of day-time TV and an equal IQ level. Even my native Californian sister-in-law social worker is ashamed to admit she actually BUYS and reads this rag.
Thank You!!
The hand flapping is almost a prime indicator for me.
The seizures, while not uncommon among Autistic children, can stem from a wide variety of ailments.
Jenny McCarthy ping.
Autism ping
“The story isn’t true. There is no way that a child whose heart has stopped and has to be revived by paramedics would be released from a hospital so that the mother could drive the kid 3 hours to another hospital. Period. Didn’t happen as described in the article.”
I know a person whose 4 year old boy had a fever, was examined in the ER around midnight, sent home, and was found dead in his bed by his mom at 6 am.
“Every child with autism presents differently than the next.”
There certainly are differences, but there are also “classic” signs of Autism that are found in quite a number of kids.
The hand flapping is quite typical. Some will have seizures but not all. Autistic kids do not follow a specific pattern.
Here we go again. LOL.
Sure doesn’t feel “trendy”.
I didn’t suggest the child doesn’t have autism. I simply note there seems to be other problems such that autism is the lesser problem the child faces. But these other physical or nervous problems are lumped in with the mental disorder of autism in a manner that at least going by WebMD is confusing and misleading.
God bless your dear heart, and be with you, your son, and your whole family.
I saw her on Oprah and she said she noticed a difference in two weeks, gluten and dairy free. Also of interest was her technique in helping her son learn how to throw and catch a ball. Because he had no instincts to tell him what to do, she videotaped a friend and herself and verbally walked him through it. He got it immediately. She also realized this applied to other things, like play, in that he didn’t know what to do with cars, for example. So she became a very hands on teacher.
Sounds like those are seizure related. She was very vocal in Oprah about these changes occuring after his series of immunizations, a common story among parents with autistic children.
Bless you for helping these kids. Without my daughter’s special ed teacher in high school, my daughter would never have made any progress.
Some people are having success with the diet while other see no results at all. Frustrating but she seems to really be on the right track & I think it’s good she’s out in the open trying to help her son & others at the same time.
Video modeling is a very successful tool in teaching autistic children skills. My son does very well with it also.
Thank you so much for your kind words. Be well.
That is not true, and I have no idea where you are getting this “many parents” information. While autism unbrellas a wide range of delays, it is a very real disorder.
The diagnosis matters little outside of securing the benefits and services your child needs. Any neuropsychologist, neurologist or developmental pediatrician will address each individual delay that child has and their recommendations for treatment and therapies.
I can assure you that parents do not do a happy dance in the doctors office when they get this diagnosis. When the neuropsychologist advised me that my son had severe autism I felt I was punched in the stomach, even though I knew what his diagnosis was — I just had him evaluated to get a clear understanding of what his strength and weaknesses were and to obtain information on what exactly he needed. I cryed so hard on the way home from that visit I was hyperventilating in the car (my husband is military and was away so he could not attend this appt, I had to hear this alone).
Unless you are a parent of an autistic child, please do not speak for us.
As autism is not a “mental” issue, I have no idea what you are talking about.
OMG that is horrible!
Me, too. And she is definitely taking his special needs and addressing them head on.
Her marriage was negatively affected by the son's condition. Too bad...
It is sad and unfortunate. I don't mean to sound snippy. But better in the long run because Jenny is committed to getting the best treatment for Evan and right away, which can make all the difference in the world. I know a couple still fighting over how best to treat their autistic son, finally common sense won out and he is getting some help but he's already 9 and has lots of ground to try to make up. I know success stories, too. In particular, two 'high-functioning' autistic young men, one in junior high, one in college. There is hope.
A great step! And I forgot to add, this diet has worked literally miracles for one of the autistic boys I know. It may or may not work for all and it is quite intensive to maintain but when it works the results are nothing short of miraculous.
You feel like life is over at first. Even when you “know”, there’s something about just hearing it that changes everything.
Sorry you had to hear it alone. I was blessed to have my husband & son there.
By Golly, I did not realize that the five psychologists, four psychiatrists, four neurologists, seven IEPs, school officials and numerous other pediatricians, colleagues, lost work time and over three hundred thousand in medical costs had placed my eight year old in a trendy click, absolutely wow!
My son was diagnosed with juvenile epilepsy by two different neurologists before being diagnosed with autism.
There is a doctor living in our house and yet we are stumped as to the root cause of Autism.
We have our opinions but nothing we can prove.
All I know at this time is that I love my son and it breaks my heart that some choose to look upon him as something less than a human child.
Some of the people who posts on these threads are absolutely either trolls from the Daily KOs, Ignorant or just plain mean spirited.
Autism in my estimation is the Polio of the 1950’s.
Am I supposed to know who Jenny is; does that make a difference in her child’s problem being more newsworthy than a similarly affected child?
When we got the final diagnosis on my son I just sat for hours in denial and kept asking God why this beautiful child.
Instead of letting this get me down I treat it as an opportunity to give back to my son what God has given me over the last umpteen years.
In a way it is odd how hearing that diagnosis changes the way a person looks at life and goals.
Suddenly those things a person holds dear such as work, play and social time come second to your child's needs.
Please don’t take this wrong: I don’t know much about autism, and I’m not mocking you with my questions.
I thought autism was due to failed activities in the brain.
I’m here to learn.
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