This is the book I've been pulling faces at each time I go to the library. So meet Mother Warriors, by Jenny McCarthy. You may recognize that name. She is one of the foremost antivaccination proponents, and that is precisely why I've avoided this book in two separate libraries. Until now, obviously.
Why now? Well, my doctor introduced me to VAERS, otherwise known as the government's vaccine injury statistics database. And to the fact that vaccine injuries are, in fact, a thing. Vaccines are by nature a bunch of chemicals and substances not natural to our bodies; the whole point of them is to prod our systems into being immune to things they're not normally immune to. So sometimes (rarely, thankfully) those things clash in ways they're not supposed to. Bad things ensue, such as new allergies, seizures, massive changes in gut bacteria, etc.
So while being aware of this, I was still pulling faces at the book, because at this point, I am so tired of hearing "vaccines cause autism, avoid vaccines at all costs," that my gut reaction is to strangle the person speaking. I get that autism is not a particularly desirable thing. Really, I do. I live with autism, it's not a party. But the diseases they're vaccinating against are quite literally deadly. Your saying, "I'm not vaccinating my kid because it might possibly make them autistic," is basically saying to me, "I'd rather my kid be dead and everyone around them be at risk of all these deadly diseases than them be autistic." You're basically telling me, to my face, that my existence is worse than death. Depending on how bad a mood I'm in, my response may vary from studied silence to a careful explanation to an angry string of imprecations.
Usually not the lattermost, thankfully.
So in the name of at least trying to understand the hysteria of anti-vaxxers, I picked this book up from my library, and then promptly put off reading it until the day before this entry was due to be posted. This is unfortunately in keeping with my habits of college, which were to put off studying for finals by doing big projects, and put off projects by doing homework. Eventually I ran out of homework and projects, but that was how much I disliked studying. And finals.
I had a great deal of difficulty starting this book, suffice it to say. The first chapter didn't help. Jenny McCarthy is fairly well known in autism circles, and has been on a number of TV shows. She invites you inside her skull for a few of those televised interviews, and the inside of her skull is a very dramatic, emotional place. I didn't enjoy my time there. I think maybe it was supposed to be inspirational or humanizing or something, but it just seemed overdone to me.
Hopefully that doesn't make me a heartless wretch. Being famous and on television, particularly after having such a difficult life and having no one believe you at first, would make a person a mite more emotional and stressed than your average person on the street. So perhaps I shouldn't point too many fingers. I did get tired of her restating her general position, though, and had to remind myself that she, like many people, considers "autism" everything that is wrong with their children as opposed to autism specifically being a brain issue and other problems like leaky gut and food allergies being comorbid.
The rest of the book consists of apparently real stories of mother warriors, ie: the kind of mother that fiercely hopes and fights for her child. This includes a single father warrior, despite the title of the book, which I thought was a good addition. These stories are interspersed with how she learned of these people, and her comments and views on their stories. With a single exception, all the stories are of little kids. The sole exception is what I've heard called an adult child. The person has grown up, but is unable to leave home and have an independent life. He was able to get a job thanks to his parents' connections, and does have friends and a social life, but it doesn't sound like living alone and other markers of independence are really on the table.
The book concludes with a series of resources to help with teaching and raising your child, including links to Autism Speaks, which surprisingly Ms. McCarthy is not a big fan of. But also to her pet organization and products. I was pleasantly surprised to see these things relegated to the end of the book, and not interspersed throughout.
Read this book if: I can't in good conscience recommend reading this book without having a lot of background in literally every other definition of autism. Jenny McCarthy, for all I can tell, does not consider me and people like me autistic, and boy howdy wouldn't that be nice if it was true.
That said...If your kid is very heavily affected by autism, food allergies, seizures, etc, I would say this book and the people attached to it probably have some good ideas you can try. If you have a kid like that and are fast tiring of hearing doctors tell you there's nothing to be done, read this book for an infusion of hope, because there's definitely several things to try, which are mentioned: gluten-free and casein-free diet, hyperbaric chamber therapy, and others. I can't vouch for the scientific accuracy of the opinions expressed therein, since I've never tried or researched many of them.
But please oh please don't forget that I exist, am autistic, and have both agency and a marked dislike for being sidelined in a myopic rush to help "the children." There is much much more to this story than Jenny McCarthy spells out.
Why now? Well, my doctor introduced me to VAERS, otherwise known as the government's vaccine injury statistics database. And to the fact that vaccine injuries are, in fact, a thing. Vaccines are by nature a bunch of chemicals and substances not natural to our bodies; the whole point of them is to prod our systems into being immune to things they're not normally immune to. So sometimes (rarely, thankfully) those things clash in ways they're not supposed to. Bad things ensue, such as new allergies, seizures, massive changes in gut bacteria, etc.
So while being aware of this, I was still pulling faces at the book, because at this point, I am so tired of hearing "vaccines cause autism, avoid vaccines at all costs," that my gut reaction is to strangle the person speaking. I get that autism is not a particularly desirable thing. Really, I do. I live with autism, it's not a party. But the diseases they're vaccinating against are quite literally deadly. Your saying, "I'm not vaccinating my kid because it might possibly make them autistic," is basically saying to me, "I'd rather my kid be dead and everyone around them be at risk of all these deadly diseases than them be autistic." You're basically telling me, to my face, that my existence is worse than death. Depending on how bad a mood I'm in, my response may vary from studied silence to a careful explanation to an angry string of imprecations.
Usually not the lattermost, thankfully.
So in the name of at least trying to understand the hysteria of anti-vaxxers, I picked this book up from my library, and then promptly put off reading it until the day before this entry was due to be posted. This is unfortunately in keeping with my habits of college, which were to put off studying for finals by doing big projects, and put off projects by doing homework. Eventually I ran out of homework and projects, but that was how much I disliked studying. And finals.
I had a great deal of difficulty starting this book, suffice it to say. The first chapter didn't help. Jenny McCarthy is fairly well known in autism circles, and has been on a number of TV shows. She invites you inside her skull for a few of those televised interviews, and the inside of her skull is a very dramatic, emotional place. I didn't enjoy my time there. I think maybe it was supposed to be inspirational or humanizing or something, but it just seemed overdone to me.
Hopefully that doesn't make me a heartless wretch. Being famous and on television, particularly after having such a difficult life and having no one believe you at first, would make a person a mite more emotional and stressed than your average person on the street. So perhaps I shouldn't point too many fingers. I did get tired of her restating her general position, though, and had to remind myself that she, like many people, considers "autism" everything that is wrong with their children as opposed to autism specifically being a brain issue and other problems like leaky gut and food allergies being comorbid.
The rest of the book consists of apparently real stories of mother warriors, ie: the kind of mother that fiercely hopes and fights for her child. This includes a single father warrior, despite the title of the book, which I thought was a good addition. These stories are interspersed with how she learned of these people, and her comments and views on their stories. With a single exception, all the stories are of little kids. The sole exception is what I've heard called an adult child. The person has grown up, but is unable to leave home and have an independent life. He was able to get a job thanks to his parents' connections, and does have friends and a social life, but it doesn't sound like living alone and other markers of independence are really on the table.
The book concludes with a series of resources to help with teaching and raising your child, including links to Autism Speaks, which surprisingly Ms. McCarthy is not a big fan of. But also to her pet organization and products. I was pleasantly surprised to see these things relegated to the end of the book, and not interspersed throughout.
Read this book if: I can't in good conscience recommend reading this book without having a lot of background in literally every other definition of autism. Jenny McCarthy, for all I can tell, does not consider me and people like me autistic, and boy howdy wouldn't that be nice if it was true.
That said...If your kid is very heavily affected by autism, food allergies, seizures, etc, I would say this book and the people attached to it probably have some good ideas you can try. If you have a kid like that and are fast tiring of hearing doctors tell you there's nothing to be done, read this book for an infusion of hope, because there's definitely several things to try, which are mentioned: gluten-free and casein-free diet, hyperbaric chamber therapy, and others. I can't vouch for the scientific accuracy of the opinions expressed therein, since I've never tried or researched many of them.
But please oh please don't forget that I exist, am autistic, and have both agency and a marked dislike for being sidelined in a myopic rush to help "the children." There is much much more to this story than Jenny McCarthy spells out.
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