My Family

My Family
Aren't they cute?

Sunday, January 3, 2010

867-5309

Question: What do I have in common with a Playboy Bunny?
Answer: Both our sons have been diagnosed with autism.
When I speak to someone who does not have personal experience with autism, they often discuss Jenny McCarthy’s appearance on Oprah. Jenny McCarthy has had a varied career. Her most recent role is an author, activist and a spokeswoman for TACA (Talk About Curing Autism). She has written two books on the subject and co-authored a third book with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel.

In her book Louder than Words, Jenny details Evan’s story. She describes how she found him one morning having a seizure in his room. After several hospital visits, more seizures and a diagnosis of epilepsy, a neurologist finally told Jenny her son was autistic. She was determined to fight for her son. She changed his diet, used traditional therapies, and tried a variety of biomedical treatments. Jenny reached out to another Hollywood Mom, Holly Robinson-Peete, for advice and support. Jenny and Holly went public with their stories to bring awareness to the issue, fight for special needs children, and to be a voice for all the other moms struggling with this issue.

Although I do not agree with everything Jenny McCarthy has written and said about autism, I appreciate what she is saying and why. I have felt the same frustrations. I fought hard for my son to receive services. I am glad she had the courage to go public with her story. The more people are aware of this developmental disorder, the quicker we will find a cure.

If you absolutely have a child with autism, now is a great time. Awareness is at an all time high with famous moms like, Jenny McCarthy, Holly Robinson-Peete and Toni Braxton, sharing with the world. All three have been criticized for going public but they continue to fight for moms and kids everywhere. Jenny McCarthy’s non-profit organization is Generation Rescue and Holly Robinson-Peete’s foundation is HollyRod4Kids Foundation. Toni Braxton is a spokeswoman for Autism Speaks and her commercial brought tears to my eyes.

So, Jenny, Holly, and Toni, keep fighting for all the other Warrior Moms out there.

Oh…just in case you were wondering about my title… it is in reference to a famous 1982 song by Tommy Tutone.

2 comments:

  1. Natalie...I think you would be interested in the work of The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation (DJF) for adolescents and adults with autism. It's an amazing organization started by Linda Walder Fiddle, a New Jersey mom whose son Danny had autism. DJF develops and funds innovative programs for young adults and adults on the spectrum. The foundation just produced a remarkable free brochure entitled Autism, Epilepsy & Seizures: How to Recognize the Signs and Basic First-Aid When You Do. Statistics show that approximately 30% of individuals with autism also have epilepsy. For more information, visit the DJF website at: http://www.djfiddlefoundation.org/

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  2. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to reading more of your posts.

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