JENNY McWHO ????

That is my dream...one day, when you mention Jenny McCarthy, you get
Jenny McWho?

Jenny McCarthy has done more harm for children with Autism than any
other person in the history of Autism. Through promoting that she has cured...
I mean, recovered....I mean..hell, she can't even get the story straight.

Anyway, when I bring up the fact that I need to prepare my children for their future...
their future education, their future living arrangements, their future jobs, this is what
alot of people say..."Jenny McCarthy says your children can be cured...why don't you
cure your children, then you wouldn't need the services?"

Through Jenny McCarthy campaigning that autism can be cured..why would we need to prepare for our childrens future if they can be cured?...

I am working very hard to make sure my children with autism have a fighting chance
to have a decent life after public school. The school system has been a wonderful
place for my kids. They have been treated with respect and dignity. They have
inclusioned my children and educated them better than I would ever have imagined.
I want my children to be able to attend the college of their choice. I want them
to be able to work wherever they want.

Lately, I have had contact with several moms who have older Autistic children. These
true Mother Warriors, the one's who are fighting for better services for their adults with
autism, all say the same thing to me...
"Jenny McCarthy pisses me off"!!!!

Guess what? She pisses a whole bunch of people off.
I stopped liking her way before the Autism thing...I stopped liking her when she compared
herself to Lucille Ball...as if !!!!

Even worse, now she has written a new book with the same doctor who said my
children's souls were stolen by Autism...he obviously has not met my children!!!

Get ready for Oprah and Larry King to pounce on this one....

I wish to one day turn on the television...I want to see a group of women who have
seen autism for over 20 years. The mom's and dad's who have loved and cared for
a child with autism and now are caring for an adult with autism. I want to hear
their stories of encouragement. I hear these stories every day...why can't the rest
of the world be blessed with the beauty I get to see and not the "pity party" that is
so popular in the world of Autism?
I want to see adults with autism functioning and prospering in the community...like
Temple Grandin.
These parent's have paved the way so children like mine can get an education in
a regular setting...they have made it much easier for me to raise my Autistic children.

Now it is my turn to make it easier to pave the way for those who are younger
than my children. Now it is my turn to make sure that Autism is not just considered
a quick cure because Jenny says so.
Jenny McWho?????

Now, that's better!!!

WARRIOR MOM...

My definition of a Warrior Mom...

A mother who does not depend on Jenny McCarthy to define them.
I have an 18 year old daughter who needs to be able to attend college. How will anyone take
me seriously when Oprah has a Playboy Bunny preaching the cures of Autism?
A mother who fights tooth and nail at an IEP meeting so their child gets the respect and education they deserve. A mother who does not negate or ridicule another mother because they do not think the way they do.
A mother who does not feel the need to call another mother's employer because they disagree on the way to treat their autistic child...yes, people....this happens.
A mother who does not make assumptions of another mother because they do not do biomedical treatments.

I was on the phone tonight with a mother of a 23 year old man with autism. We spoke about how we were blessed not to have the Autism drama 18 plus years ago when we had to start parenting our adults with autism. We spoke about the new parent's coming into the world of Autism and how much they have to deal with the drama of Age Of Autism ,Generation Rescue and the other propaganda sites that will draw you in.

A Warrior Mom is a mom who loves their child unconditionally. Who wants them to have all of the advantages of other children. Who beams when they walk in a room.

I am a proud, card-carrying Warrior Mom...but not by the definition of Oprah and Jenny. But, by the definitions of all of the Warrior Moms that came before me. The ones who are raising amazing adults with Autism. The ones who are not looking for a "cure" or "recovery" but the ones looking to find respect and dignity for their adults with Autism...

God Bless You Warrior Moms...you lead the way...I am very close behind.

JUST ONE...TRUSERA...

This past September, I was flown up to Seattle, WA...my first time there.
I was sent there to be filmed for a video shoot for the health blog site TRUSERA.
Trusera is an amazing site everyone.
My video was released today...here is the link...

http://www.trusera.com/health/stories/mom26children/o-donnell-after-extreme-makeover-autism-and-5-kids

I hope you like it. I am very proud to be on the Trusera blog site.
The message of JUST ONE is that it takes Just One story to have
people relate to it. The philosophy of Trusera.com is very positive.
I hope you find it the same.

SO BOARD...OOPS !!!

I mean bored!
Autism forums, boards and "news" sites have become quite a joke
lately among the parent's of children and adults with Autism who are
truly looking for help.
I have been reading these sites for over 5 years now, and they are
still fighting about the same thing they fought about 5 years ago.
Luckily for the reader, some of the more prevalent writers have become better
spellers (my biggest pet peeve when someone is trying to be smarter than another
person).
I have read the same garbage written by the same people for years. They
have nothing new to say. These posters like to cut and paste from other forums
and act like they actually have a clue.
They call names, malign people, and actually...believe me this really happens...
start letter writing and petition signing campaigns.
PEOPLE....you are just pissing off the people you are intending to get to change their
minds.

On one board, there is a particular person who truly thinks they are smart. These
types are the scary ones. They read something somewhere...usually a site that promotes
propaganda and actually believe the crap that is written.
They take every twist and turn the propagandist makes and pushes it so far down in
their brain, it actually looks like the truth to them.
How sad they forget to think for themselves.

These places are like watching a soap opera you haven't seen in years...btw, I do
not watch soap operas (so don't go there with me). You happen to stop on the channel
and there are the same characters with the same problems..just more grey hair and they
have a couple of adult kids by now..having the same problems.
Do ya get where I am going here?

In 5 years, we will be reading the same thing on these boards.

Parents of Autistic children who practice the biomedical approach to Autism
will still be singing the praises of Jenny McCarthy and Dr. Andrew Wakefield.
Jenny and Andrew will be nicely retired after earning a butt-load of money
from these parent's.
The parent's who gave money to these retirees will be working to pay off the
large amount of debt they incurred while paying these "Autism prophets".
The good thing is though, Jenny's face will not have changed one bit...due to
being able to keep on affording the Botox she so greatly loves.

Oh, and Winnie...thanks for the chuckle today on the AW site. I have been
home all day with a sick child and needed a giggle.
"Verifying Facts"....tee hee !!!!
I hope if she is writing a book, she gets someone to spell check for her. ;)

THERE IS A FINE LINE....

between being a parent with Autistic children who doesn't use biomedical interventions and being a parent of children with Autism who do use biomedical interventions.

We are among the parent's who do not use biomedical interventions. We have seen great improvements in our children without the need for the biomedical interventions. Our children have continued to learn and gain education in regular education schools and classes.

Our children are thriving medically and very rarely get ill. They are on a gluten-filled and casein-filled diet. They are tall and meeting each milestone.

At one time, each of our Autistic children have had or is continuing to have speech, occupational, physical, recreational, play and massage therapies. These have been instrumental in our children's progress.

This morning, I went on an Autism message forum to answer a question a mother had about her daughter and having periods. She was asking for a person with Autism to answer her, but I thought that being a mother of a daughter with severe autism and having dealt with this issue, I would respond to the question.

I responded by telling what methods we used when Caitlin was having horrible issues with her period.

The response given back was written by one of the moderators telling this woman to ask a mother who does biomedical interventions. They would understand better without using traditional medical methods.

Here in lies my issues.....

Does it really matter what side of the biomedical spectrum we are on? Are we not trying to help each other cope when it comes to raising our Autistic children? Isn't that what a support group does?

Not for nothing, but my husband and I have had amazing results raising 6 children...5 of them on varying degrees of the spectrum. We have been in the "World of Autism" for 18 years. We have been there and done that. We have seen the worst Autism has to offer and the best. We have cleaned up more poop smears than any family we know. We have cleaned up more broken glass, spilled liquids, toothpaste and liquid soap spills than most people we know. We have been through the non-verbal child to the early talker. We have struggled with school systems and therapists. We have fought doctors and scientists.

My husband and I are still learning about our children. We have a pretty good grasp on them and their abilities, but always want them to achieve more. We love to learn from others who have been down this road before us. We seek out the parent's of adults with Autism, so we can learn from them....whether it is their successes or their failures.

I hope this fork in the so-called road of Autism (yes, I am full of metaphors today..sorry) narrows pretty soon. It is really getting in the way of the way people and professionals look at autism.

I mean, who can take parent's of children with Autism seriously if we cannot get along amongst each other?