Autism on the View

[Jamies Mommy]

Did anyone catch the Autism show on the View this morning. I found out about it last minute. I thought it was a really well done show and I really felt for Toni Braxton whose son was just diagnosed with Autism. She made me teary remembering what it felt like when Jamie was first diagnosed.
You can view clips from the show by going to their website.

[milivica]

When autism becomes an issue for several 'stars' I believe it will bring a whole new help about for our kids. I'm not happy to hear any child and mom will go through this, but am happy it will get an attention it never did before. Remember when some of the stars were found to have HIV, and all of a sudden boom there was all kinds of attention to it?

I'm glad it was well done, glad I didn't watch it though, some days I just can't go back there in my memory, know what I mean? But I'm sure I'll watch the clip on their website, it'd be too hard to resist seeing it.

Thanks for posting this,
Mili

[Pamster]

I caught it but was surprised they didn't play the entire Autism Every Day clip. I wish they would have, that would have opened some more eyes then the kids they had on IMO. The show was nicely done I think, but I just didn't get the feeling that it was a fair representation of what it's really like for us, except the one family with the daughter. I came close to crying it was kind of sad thinking about it all. Seeing Toni Braxton talking about her son ready to cry made me teary too. It's no fun living with autism every day is it? :(

[Isabelle]

no,pamster, it is not

[milivica]

For anyone interested, here is the website for The View:
http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/index.html

if you look on the left there's a box that says TheView Autism, and there's a link to click "to view more information regarding today's show on Autism, please click here." http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/autism.html

And going here http://abc.go.com/fsp/index.html?channel=TheView will let you see a bit of Toni Braxton, plus some other things like 2 video clips of Temple Grandin. The first was so hard for me to watch I didn't see the second yet. It's nothing Temple said in particular, I'm still not able to recall being much more impaired by autism than I am now, I just can't do it. And YIKES about Rosie saying stuff about 'coming out' of autism. Cripe. Do some research, yes I'm grateful she said it was an epidemic and not getting nearly enough attention or funding with Toni though.

For some reason, lately I've just been doing so much thinking about the level of EFFORT we parents with kids on the spectrum have to put forth. For me, I feel forced to recall the past all the time when in fact I can't stand remembering what being a child felt like what so ever, visual memories are fine, just not feeling the feelings I did then. It was a time of bizarre internal thoughts to try and understand an nt world, it was a time of 24/7 total confusion, loneliness and isolation like I can't describe, a knowing that anything I tried no matter how simple was bound to fail fail fail, I'd screw it up somehow, etc.... But remembering is how I understand Vince the best, remembering why I did similar things. So, that is draining. More than I realize, I just try to block out how it feels while feeling - if that makes any sense.

Anyhow, just for the 'misery loves company' factor, does anyone know of anything that creates as much effort on a mother than autism? It's not like I have a sister or friends that come give me a break, which, they could if he could 'behave'. I have a friend with a medically fragile child, she gets free nursing care so she can work, which yes he needs just in case he stops breathing which has happened. And while I know medically Vince is not fragile, he does need special care givers, it's definitely not an option to leave him with the 15 year old down the block. Cripe. I can just visualize her much like the babysitter in the Incredibles, lol. So, can anyone compare and apple to an apple for me here? What 'company' do parents with autistic children have, the old misery loves company factor. And I mean 'invisible' things that create comments and looks of blame and disgust toward us parents, instead of compassion.

[AKF]

This is long, but it's an article that David Kirby (Evidence of Harm) wrote about the episode. I find it interesting that they would not touch the issue of what causes autism, even when audience members were asking.





Daytime television has not been the same since Rosie O'Donnell took a pugnacious seat at the talkative table known as "The View." Rosie has pumped more heat and energy into that show than a year's worth of colorful coffee-filled mugs.
Love her or loathe her, Rosie O'Donnell has shown the nerve to think out loud - a rare and valuable commodity in the overly scripted world of television.

She has injected the show with some Nielsen-loving controversy and ratcheted up revenues in the bargain.
So when I heard that Rosie and "The View" were doing a one-hour special on autism (airing Monday 1/29), I assumed the subject would be handled with the same feisty, fearless, take-no-prisoners aplomb as usual.
After all, autism and controversy are practically siblings. If ABC would let Rosie trash Trump, bash Bush and oppose Oprah, surely they would let her wade into the burning contretemps of why 1-in-166 American kids are struggling with autism today.
I was even more encouraged when a producer invited me to the show. They were asking several experts to sit in the audience, who might be called upon to answer questions. She couldn't guarantee that I would be called, but asked if I could be there "in case the question of causation comes up," (My book was about mercury, vaccines and autism).
"Causation," of course, is the autism question of the century. Why do we have so many sick kids? Is this all simply genetics? Then why is there so much more autism now? What changed, and what are we doing to find out?
You won't find out on Monday's program.
Instead, "The View" presented a respectful and sometimes teary portrait of families living with autistic children-- their daily struggles and special needs. Several kids were onstage, some verbal, some not, and they handled themselves very well. It was a fine show about autism awareness, and the producers are to be lauded for it, especially for asking what will happen when so many disabled, dependent kids turn 21.
During the breaks, however, I could hear women in the audience murmuring to each other: "But what causes it? Why so many children? What about mercury? How can I get more information?"
During the final break, I asked Rosie when the question of causation would come up.
"We're not doing that," she said, bluntly. "We're focusing on families and their kids."
"Rosie," I replied, "I think a lot of people are wondering about what's causing this."
"We don't know what causes it," she said. "You just want me to ask so you can talk about mercury."
Stung, I explained that her audience members were asking, and that production staff had also asked me about causation privately backstage.
"We're not doing causation," Rosie repeated. "In fact, I told them not to book you."
So, a deliberate decision had been reached before the show to avoid the elephant-in-the-room question. Then why did they book me, I wondered?
As Rosie turned away, I blurted out: "Would you at least take a look at my book?"
She spun around and met my eyes. "I read your book. I thought it was very good."
This was encouraging, if a bit bewildering.
"I think mercury may have something to do with it," she said. "I just can't say that right here."
My head spun as the show wrapped up. Had "The View" finally squelched Rosie O'Donnell? Did mercury trump Trump? Was this the heavy metal that dare not speak its name, at least on a network flush with Pharma ads?
It's hard to say for sure. Last year, former host Star Jones posed the vaccine-autism question on the air, (but then again, look what happened to her).
After the show, Rosie approached me again, this time with the polite tact of a Sunday school teacher.
She apologized. She said there had not been enough time to cover the causation issue, and that the producers decided to focus only on families.
Families, I said, want to know the cause, too. "The View" could easily have done just one segment on it, presenting all sides.
"I don't run this show," Rosie said with a soft smile. She promised to try for a special on causation, perhaps later this spring.
Again, I don't know why the decision was made. But I do know it was a bit surreal to sit through an entire show dedicated to autism without anyone asking why kids develop it.
I am not complaining because I wasn't chosen to speak (I've been on TV before, including "The View.") But I do know this: You can't discuss causation without discussing the environment. You can't talk about the environment without talking about mercury. And you can't mention mercury without mentioning vaccines.
So for now at least, the cause of autism is a topic too hot for "The View" to have a view.
But I imagine Rosie will not stifle herself forever. She knows "The View" was overwhelmed by emails before the taping- from supporters and opponents of the mercury hypothesis. She knows that pregnant women on staff were upset to discover that their flu shots were preserved with mercury (one mother-to-be who asked me nearly cried). And she knows that the show left viewers discomfited that their own causation questions were roundly unaddressed.
"I am so tired of 'coping with autism,'" one young mother told me afterward. "How about stopping it? We don't need more sob-fests. We need answers."
In preparing the show, producers called on the National Autism Association, which supports mercury-autism research, for information. NAA President Wendy Fournier sent them everything she had, but nothing relating to causation was aired.
"You know the staff will be questioning vaccines for their kids and looking into it for their own benefit," she said to me, "but they won't share that information to protect the children of America."
I hope ABC will let Rosie be Rosie, and let her express her real autism views on "The View." But I am not holding my breath. Perhaps the Queen of Controversy will have to find another venue before she can finally say what's REALLY on her mind.
-------------
(NOTE: Rosie did say on the air that causation issues could be found in books listed on "The View's" website. Producers told me they would put my book "Evidence of Harm" on the site, for which I am very appreciative).

[milivica]

"I am so tired of 'coping with autism,'" one young mother told me afterward. "How about stopping it? We don't need more sob-fests. We need answers."

That was well put. Now I regret not seeing the show.

[callyflower]

Thanks, AKF, for posting the Kirby blog. I was just logging on to do it. I'd already heard last week by another listmate of mine who was there at the taping that the whole thing was more blah blah blah and very little INFO.

Cally

[Pamster]

Wow, imagine that! I can't believe they didn't toch causation either but to invite David there and treat him like that, sheesh I'd be mad if I was him having her tell him flatly that she didn't want them to book him! Sheesh!

Thanks for posting that AKF. Eye opening stuff. :(

[Isabelle]

absolutely! One wonders if big pharmas are funding these shows or the government, afraid that mentioning mercury/vaccines could bring a backlash, parents refusing to vaccinate their children which could bring a big loss of profits.

[AKF]

Who knows what is going on, but it must have been something to get Rosie to pipe down. I'm no Rosie fan, but I do know that she isn't known for keeping her mouth shut!! I guess the network just didn't want to deal with any controversy.