October 30th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism is Jenny McCarthy’s retelling of her struggles with her son Evan, now 5 years old. It is a fast read, 202 pages in larger type.
The story of Evan is interesting, but the author’s own character development is the real reason to read the book. She moves from woe-is-me to panic to a point where things stabilize and she can have time for herself again. The move from her original intent to write a comedy book about marriage to one about autism is a welcome move from denial to action.
McCarthy is rather harsh on those whom she perceives failed her in getting care for her child, the pediatricians and her now ex-husband, John Asher. I would be curious to see what the reaction of Asher would be. Thankfully she has met with success through the support of other parents, as well as doctors in the DAN! network.
It is interesting to note that Evan was diagnosed with autism before receiving his MMR shot and yet towards the end lends her approval to the vaccines-cause-autism argument. Both of course may be logically true, but I would have expected less confidence in the causality from someone who wasn’t affected by it. Wikipedia notes that later on she became more of a believer some combination of vaccines harmed her child.
McCarthy does note Adam Smith’s invisible hand in the medical industry; either wait on lists for funded medical care, or pay for it out of pocket. To her credit she sees more need for increases in private philanthropy rather than government funding, though nobody is completely immune to the government carrot. Paying for autism care is tough, even for celebrities.
The book has its share of vulgar language in the understandable context of McCarthy’s frustrations. There are a couple of minor logical inconsistencies that break the flow of the text. The successes are nevertheless enjoyable to read. Evan had the most success after a restricted diet, elimination of yeast in the digestive tract, vitamin supplements, and ABA therapy.
Louder Than Words is an exploration of a parent’s denial that something may be wrong with her child, her hostility toward an environment that doesn’t normally relate child behavior with disease, her search for help and support, and her finding of success. McCarthy is no saint, and while the book plainly shows what a mother will go through for her child, it also shows that such passion can burn valuable bridges.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
October 30th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
I do believe you may be incorrect on the timing of the MMR vaccination and his diagnosis. His diagnosis came at 3 and the MMR came well before that.
October 30th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Hrm. At the end of chapter 8 she mentions that Evan was 2½ when he was diagnosed. In chapter 11, McCarthy discusses the progress she had made getting the “three-year-old” to say “open.” Without any clear chronological jumping around, the MMR vaccination is mentioned later in Chapter 11. Perhaps it was an organizational detail that was overlooked.
October 31st, 2007 at 8:47 pm
I’ll consider getting the book. The vaccine injury as causal factor may or may not be due to MMR. My son was harmed - I believe - at two hours old when the hep B was administered. Additional vaccines added to the injury. I think mercury is a primary cause, additionally the increased number of vaccines is hard on the immune system.
We will be receiving medical treatment out of the country soon. placenta/umbilical cord stem cells. We’ll see if some of the damage can be repaired.
November 1st, 2007 at 7:30 am
To Mark Arnold - I will be adding you and your son to my prayer list. I, too, have a deep belief that the overload of vaccinations on tiny little systems is a catalyst for multitudes of problems. I am the grandmother of a beautiful little girl who is on the autism spectrum and I recall accompanying her to the pediatrician and they administered 4 and 5 shots at a time, even, though she was 3 months premature! Her mother continually questioned the wisdom of this, but doctors know more than parents, supposedly. Once again, I pray that healing and improvement is in your son’s future.
November 1st, 2007 at 6:34 pm
When I first heard that story, I was miffed that the People headline read “Fighting for my Autistic Son”. Personally, I prefer that she fights WITH her son.
From what I heard…autism is genetic, so the vaccine is a moot point.
Autism Diva has a great article regarding McCarthy:
http://autismdiva.blogspot.com/2007/09/jenny-mccarthy-and-problem-of-illusions.html
November 2nd, 2007 at 7:49 am
“From what I heard….autism is genetic…” There is no proven specific determination of the cause for autism, genetic, immmunizations or otherwise. When you say to parents who are struggling to get the proper treatments and therapies that autism is genetic, that is just heaping additional guilt on them! Many cases of autism become apparent and are diagnosed after immunizations, so is it the age or the shots? I know how my daughter and son-in-law, and in fact our entire family, have struggled with the why of this beautiful bright little girl’s diagnosis. The only thing I have read from McCarthy’s book is that she paid something like $4,000.00 per month for treatments. Well, good for her, but how many families can do that? We learned at a recent autism dinner that the incidence of autism is 1 in every 150 children but the funding for research and treatmetns are lower than ANY other childhood illness or disease. I am sorry if this is erratic, but I get very emotional when it comes to my granddaughter and the lack of assistance for parents of children with autism.
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:34 am
Mark,
When was your child born? Mercury has not been present in vaccines since 2002.
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:04 am
Point of information: Thimerosal, which contains mercury, is still use in flu vaccines. The CDC has a table of immunizations and when they contained thimerosal.
Given that this is a topic of much debate, I suggest for the benefit of everyone here that if one has a factual claim, please provide a reference.
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Bruce,
Jonathan was born at the tail end of 1992. In 1991 there was an increase in the number of recommended vaccines - many containing thimerosal. As Dan noted the vast majority of flu vaccine still contains Thimerosal.
Many multi-dose vial vaccines (DTaP, Hep B) are still produced with Thimerosal, the mercury is then chelated out (like some of our kids) - these still contain trace amounts of mercury. This is not an issue for single dose vials. Read the vial - you want it to say “preservative free”.
Carol,
Autism must certainly have a genetic component (ie, my wife and I both are exposed to pollen — gives her more trouble, probably genetic ; my elder son is more sensitive to mercury than I, it isn’t good for either of us, genetically he is predisposed to be more sensitive to metals).
According to my local rag, Raleigh’s News and Observer, the autism rate could be as high as 1 in 67. This wasn’t always with us, and not like this. It was unheard of before vaccines.
My main source is the NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center) — http://www.nvic.org , not a gov’t agency by the way.
November 3rd, 2007 at 8:15 am
“From what I heard…autism is genetic, so the vaccine is a moot point.”
Actually even the autism is genetics group will tell you they think that genetics is “loading the gun” and “something in the environment” is “pulling the trigger.”
However, should my daughter have had a hep b vaccination 6 weeks before she was even due to be born (yep she got it the day she was sent home from the hospital - she was born 11 weeks early and only in the hospital 5 weeks). She was also barely 5 lbs and got the same dosage as a baby who is born who weighs 7 lbs, 8 lbs, 10 lbs. She then continued to get a vast quantity of shots up to five multi-illness immunizations at a time months prior to when she would have had she stayed in the womb. I ASKED the questions EVERY time and was assured that vaccinations were COMPLETELY safe. Let me tell you right now - until we know the cause of autism with 100% certainty - no one can say that vaccines are a moot point.