Health, Taken Seriously

I just finished reading the book Louder Than Words. It’s written by Jenny McCarthy about her son’s autism. It’s less than 200 pages and a very easy read. By easy, I mean quick. It’s actually not that easy to read–I cried through the first few chapters. I think every mother should read this book. Not to scare you into worrying that your child may develop autism or that you should fear vaccines, but to give you a greater appreciation for your child. My oldest son is three years old and at least once a week, I tell him that his endless talking and singing and dancing are driving me crazy. But after reading this book, I don’t think I’ll ever say that again. I am blessed to have a healthy child.  Very, very blessed.

Apart from feeling extraordinarily lucky, I came away from reading this book with another thought–what on earth is going on?!? In the 1970’s, one in 10,000 children had autism. Now, 1 in 150 do. How is that possible? Some might say that the disorder is better diagnosed now, but that still doesn’t explain the sudden increase in a mere three decades. I have a hard time believing that autistic children just slipped by in the past. It’s not that subtle of a disease. Even more alarming, as the mother of two boys, is that the rate of autism is five times higher for boys than girls, so actually the chance of a boy developing autism is now one in less than a hundred. That is alarming!!

Even more alarming is such a common illness is so poorly understood. One of the things that saddened me most from this book is that autism research is not very well funded. Leukemia affects one in 25,000 and has $310 million in private funding. Pediatric AIDS affects one in 80,000 and has $394 million in private funding. Autism affects one in 150 and has $15 million in private funding. How can we figure out why autism rates are skyrocketing and how this can be avoided if we aren’t willing to fund the research?

Jenny McCarthy had an interesting point as to why we still don’t understand autism well. She related it to cancer. Cancer has been hard to understand because it manifests itself in so many ways, affecting different parts of the body at different rates and in different ways. It’s harder to find a cause or treatment for this type of disease. Such is the case with autism as well. The severity varies, as does the response to various treatments. Jenny was able to “heal” her son’s autism through various treatments, but they don’t all work on all children. Some children show signs of autism early on, while others seem to be developing normally and then display regression in verbal skills and social behavior. Why is this? There are so many unanswered questions with autism.

I have an adopted cousin who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism. She has needed a lot of medical attention from therapists and psychiatrists and doctors. Fortunately, she has been able to receive that help and is even enrolled in a special school for students like herself. But according to Jenny McCarthy, the New York Times has reported that only 10% of afflicted children are getting the services they need. “As a nation, we are letting down more than 25,000 children each year.” This is staggering. Not only do we not understand the cause of autism or why the rate of the disease is increasing so drastically, we aren’t properly treating those that have it.

One of the best things about Jenny McCarthy is that she was pro-active in finding answers and cures for her son. She didn’t sit around waiting.  She didn’t accept certain answers from doctors. She pushed and searched and did all she could to understand the illness and what she could to do change the course her son was on. I think this is an important lesson for all of us. Our health is in our hands. Doctors are paid professionals to help us, but ultimately we need to take responsibility for our health and be actively involved in finding answers. Whether your ailment be cancer or allergies or headaches or autism, you need to work hard for your own health. Don’t just trust the insurance companies and doctors to do it. Get second opinions, read books, research things online. Take charge of your own health and well-being, as well as that of your family.

Filed under: Book recommendation, Children on April 10th, 2008