Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

amdachel — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:53:36 GMT

Enter Your Comm

Since Kate Daily and Claudia Kalb, along with everyone else at Newsweek, have consistently refused to honestly and thoroughly cover the epidemic called autism, I'm not sure what the point of this piece is.

In the real world, parents are overwhelmed by autism. The divorce rate for parent with an autistic child is 80 percent. Our children are refused insurance coverage for therapy. Schools can't begin to provide the one-on-one help that these kids need. Parents face bankrupting costs paying for treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has never acknowledged that there's been any real increase in autism. They give us the outdated and worthless autism rate of one in 150 children/one in every 94 boys, which comes from studies of eight year olds done back 2000 and 2002.

Media sources like Newsweek faithfully report all the claims from the CDC. We're to believe that no one knows what causes autism. It's a mystery that scientists just can't seem to figure out yet.

Newsweek brings up the possibility that the Travoltas may have denied their son "appropriate care." Are Daily and Kalb aware that as far as the medical community is concerned, there is no treatment that helps autistic children? (Until recently the prescription medication, Celexa, was used off-label on these kids until it was found to be ineffective and harmful.)

Newsweek hopes that Jeff Travolta's death might "raise awareness." That's about all autism ever rates in this country, but awareness doesn't give us answers. It doesn't raise an alarm over a once rare disorder that is now so common that everyone knows someone with an autistic child and no one knows why. And awareness doesn't provide services. Calling for awareness might make Kate Daily and Claudia Kalb feel good about themselves, but it translates into nothing in the real world.

Anne Dachel

Media editor: AGE OF AUTISM ent

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

resilientmom — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:44:38 GMT

When I wrote The Dangers of Celebrity Medicine, I touched on the value of celebrity endorsement when he or she does not assume the role of doctor.

Sadly, I was reminded over and again about certain movie stars who declined to "come out" about their child's autism. Years ago I knew that John Travolta and Kelly Preston's son Jett was autistic. Whether or not this news was here-say, I had hoped that they would come forward, and be the voice of autism, and give credibility to the need for research and awareness. "Look, this even happens to celebrities".

Mr. and Mrs. Travolta vehemently and publicly denied the autism diagnosis, claiming their son was a victim of Kawasaki Disease, due to inhaling carpet cleaning materials. Tragically Jett Travolta died last January, due to a complications from a seizure disorder.

Reported by Yahoo.com news the police report of Jett Travolta's death has been published:"According to National Enquirer magazine, a police report taken from John in February read: "On Monday 29 December 2008 I traveled to Grand Bahama Island. I was accompanied by my wife Kelly Preston, my son Jett Travolta, my daughter Ella Travolta, Eli Wheaton, Jeff Kathrein and others. We stayed at town houses at Old Bahama bay, Grand Bahama. My son Jett suffered from a seizure disorder and he was autistic."

According to the report the Travolta's devotion to Scientology prohibited admission of autism: "Scientology teaches that mental illness does not exist and teaches the problem should be resolved using "spiritual healing" rather than drugs."

This is a tough one for me. I have the utmost respect for the devastation of mental illness. It is an intangible, often helped by therapy and medication. However, and this is a huge caveat, autism hardly falls into a microcosm of Scientology diagnosis. There are neurological, biological, genetic and physical pieces to the autism spectrum disorder. Once again, how does a religious group ascertain a medical degree?

Jett Travolta's death should not go in vain. Perhaps now is the time for John Travolta and Kelly Preston to donate their time and resources to autism awareness. They know all too well how autism can devastate a family. It is never too late to share his story for the good of mankind.

Robin Hausman Morris

http://www.examiner.com/x-3565-Autism--Parenting-Examiner

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

EKSwitaj — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:00:32 GMT

Hi Kate. I'm a little confused by your last sentence, particularly the reference to "a young man who was loved not for his diagnosis, but for who he was". His diagnosis, whatever it was exactly, was part of who he was, so wouldn't he have to be loved, at least in part, for that if he was truly loved for who he was?

Elizabeth Kate Switaj

elizabethkateswitaj.net

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

Maurine Meleck — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:01:09 GMT

It's not so much 'INFIGHTING THAT STALLS PROGRESS" on autism, but more media such as Newsweek that simply goes along with the CDC mantra that autism hasn't increased, just better diagnosing and vaccines are completely safe. We don't need more awareness about autism: we need answers and independent studies on vaccinated vs unvaccinated, for wxample. One thing we don't need for sure is Newsweek magazine sticking its head in where it doesn't belong because Newsweek reporters know as much about autism as the average doctor in 1943.

Maurine Meleck

South Carolina

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

ffddnews.com — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:59:30 GMT

It amazes me that the entire world news media and law enforcement can track a child with cancer all over the globe because his mother wants to withhold chemotherapy in the name of religion, but a child with autism, who is followed by the media constantly, can suffer for years and years without intervention for autism and seizures, and ultimately pay with his life, because of religion. I guess Scientology, because of it's celebrity following, gets more favorable consideration than other fringe religious groups. Unbelievable!

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

Sandy_in_USA — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:02:08 GMT

I'm not sure why after death revealing a child had autism would in any way bring any good to that child's memory or the autism community at all. The Travolta's on many accounts publicly denied their child had autism, yet no one will accept that. Some portion of a police report is not valid enough for me that this child had autism.

Just because of the Travolta's 'star power' doesn't lead to the expectation they should make anything public that they don't want to, and I highly doubt one 'star power' has enough power to at all help remove that rampaging sigma autism carries. If that was the case, McCarthy alone should be enough to help that and if that was the case us plain parents are here for nothing. What this Claudia is saying is that the autism community needs actors and actresses in order to make change.

"It would raise awareness and put a face to the disorder: the face of a young man who was loved not for his diagnosis, but for who he was."

Think about that statement.... forcing the Travolta's to make a statement about autism means we of the autism community are demanding to know if he had autism or not, but we cant love him for who he was not knowing if he had autism or not???? How many faces of autism does one need anyway?

The autism community continues to publish things that force this very sad death unto this family, so that they have to make another statement to the public. "along with the end of some nasty, speculative, counter-productive infighting..." The only people who wont leave this family along is those of the autism community. I cant think of any reason why this family would want to join that infighting community, which exactly what this article is, counter-productive infighting.

I wonder who else in Hollywood has a child one suspects of autism that we can pick on.

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

snig — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:31:00 GMT

Absolutely the business of no one besides the Travoltas. This is not a condition like diabetes. There is no medication that works for all kids with autism. There is no study out there that says that all kids with autism need meds. Some may help, but sometimes the best medical rout is to not medicate. All power to those who see a benefit and decide to medicate. All power to those who tried, didn't see a benefit and decided not to.

We know more than we need to about Jett. They tried seizure medication for him. Not all people with seizures are able to control them with meds. For those that are helped, there are often heavy side-effects, and doctors will continue to way cost/benefit for keeping a kid on them. The depakote no longer stopped the seizures for Jett.

Did it ever occurr to you that it may not have been helpful to Jett to be forced to be a spokesperson for autism while alive? Fame is damaging to healthy kids, why should Jett, dealing with his condition need an added burden? I wouldn't want that for my kid.

Parents who have a kid with autism need all the consolation they can get. If it offered them some consolation to deny it was autism, so be it. They still loved the kid. While I know the issues of having a kid with autism, I can only imagine the heartbreak of losing a child. Harrassing the family with suggestions that the family has some noblesse oblige to become the "family with autism" poster people will not help their grief.

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

neverstopbelieving — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:15:10 GMT

While I do not necessarily agree with scientology, their claim that autism as a diagnosis is not "real" may in fact, be true in the literal sense.

Autism is a neurological disorder and while there are likely mutliple causes, the underlying theme is that the brain has been injured. If the Travolta's knew their son had Kawasaki's Disease, there was literally no reason whatsoever to say he had autism which is merely a set of behavioral symptoms.

This is perhaps why Bailey Banks and Hannah Poling are said to have "autism" even though they have all the characteristics (symptoms) of autism. Bailey Banks developed ADEM after receiving MMR and developed brain injury. Hannah Poling manifest Mitochondrial disorder after receiving MMR, DTap, IPV, Hib, and Varivax. She developed brain injury as a result.

The travolta's know what caused Jett's autistic characteristics. Period. Whether the travolta's engaged in treatment or not is no one's business but their own. No medical community can even figure out there is an increase in diagnosis and people are going to render opinions on what the Travolta's do or do not do? Every single child is different and it is not just the child but the family that must be taken into account when deciding what to do.

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

Twyla — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:48:56 GMT

I agree with Maurine Meleck and Anne Dachel.

Infighting isn't stalling progress. The refusal of the medical establishment (including the CDC, FDA, AAP, pharma companies etc.) to admit to vaccine causation is stalling progress. The refusal to study vaccine injured children, to listen to DAN! doctors and parents, to do a study comparing health outcomes among vaccinated and unvaccinated children, to track vaccine injuries, and to study biomedical treatments -- all of this is stalling progress.

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

MB2009 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:00:04 GMT

Loved for who he was? Loved maybe inspite of something extremely significant, something that defined the parameters of his life and affected everyone around him. Autism in a loved one is very challenging to deal with - but death of a loved one especially a young person is a much greater loss. My sympathies with the Travoltas and those who knew and miss Jett.

No one has an obligation to use personal grief for a cause; it may be a way of coping, and it's always a matter of personal choice. Whether the cause be support for research or treatment for autism, or Scientology or any other religion.

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

BloodofPatriots — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:46:53 GMT

Time and time again, quality scientific research reproduces the following result: There is no link between autism and vaccines. Thanks, Oprah, for filling the public's imagination with another "Million Little Pieces" of disinformation.

re: Why It Matters if Jett Travolta Was Autistic

imzmsi — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:48:04 GMT

What causes autism? That’s the million dollar question, however there appears to be four chief suspects: genetics, abnormal brain growth, environmental triggers and premature birth. There has been much talk about the theory that autism is linked to vaccinations and more specifically that trace amounts of mercury used as a preservative in many vaccines prior to 2001 caused a spike in autism. I work at The Medicine Shoppe and we've noticed that research during the past ten years has taken a long hard look at vaccines and found conclusive evidence that vaccine exposure isn't the turn-on switch for autism. Local pharmacists are excellent sources of additional advice!