Oprah's Autism Show

I would be the last person to ever sit down and watch an episode of Oprah. While I do commend her for her success (which she does deserve), I'm not a fan. However, yesterday, she did a show on Autism. But not a normal show about children with Autism. She had two guests on her show to discuss Autism. The main guest was Jenny McCarthy. The blond model and actress. The girl who is in love with Jim Carrey. She wrote a book about her son Evan's autism and how she has helped him deal with it, and make great strides forward. Also, Holly Robinson Pete, who was an actress on 21 Jump Street (for those younger than 25, Google it), and married to college and pro football athlete Rodney Peete. She has a 10 year old son who has Autism. She recently "came out" about her son's autism. Her son was diagnosed in 1999. It's sad that she had to "come out", but unfortunately, it's a reflection on our society's view at the time on this affliction.

Jenny McCarthy seems to very knowledgeable about autism. She did what most parent do to initially learn about this affliction. She went to the internet. Evan was diagnosed when he was 3 years old. He is 5 now.She used many resources at her disposal to learn about it. She took the view that his diet was holding him back from being the Evan she knew he could be. She put him on a Gluten-free diet. She said within 2 weeks, she noticed a big difference in him. He was using sentences. Currently, from what Ms. McCarthy stated, he is doing well.

During the show, she did talk about her book. She mentioned her reaction to the diagnosis, how she dealt with it, and the things she tried. She also talks about the breakdown of the marriage, which seemed to be caused by her son's autism. I'm not blaming the autism in any way, shape or form. Having a child with autism does strain a marriage, if only one person shoulders the load. Both partners have to be strong, if anything for the child's sake.

One thing that stuck with me about this show was that both Ms. McCarthy and Mrs. Peete said that there isn't one magic "cure-all" bullet that will help every child with Autism. What worked for Evan, may not work for your child, if they are affected. To me, that was a great thing to say. Each child with autism has to be approached differently. However, to add to what they say, the only consistent all children with Autism need, is love and support. but that should be a given.

One other item that they mentioned on the show was what to say. If you noticed, I have been saying a child with Autism, or children with Autism. No matter what, it should be the child first, autism second. It's a small thing to ask, but, to me and many other parents, the child should ALWAYS be first.

I just want to thank Oprah for letting Ms. McCarthy and Mrs. Peete share their stories. She treated them with dignity, and didn't try to, as I call it, glamorize autism.

If you want more information on Jenny's book entitled "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism", please click on this link to Amazon.coms listing of her book. While I may or may not purchase it, it's good to see a perspective on Autism, and also shows that it can affect anyone in any socialecomonic status.