October 7th, 2007 by Jemaleddin Cole

As mentioned over on Left Brain/Right Brain, in the introduction to Jenny McCarthy’s new book about raising her autistic son, Dr. Jerry Kartzinel says:

“Autism, as I see it, steals the soul from a child; then, if allowed, relentlessly sucks life’s marrow out of the family members, one by one..”

…which makes my mind boggle. Let’s be clear who we’re talking about. This is what Dr. Kartzinel thinks a soulless child looks like:

Has this guy ever met an autistic? Jared is the happiest, funniest, sweetest bundle of life and joy that you could ever meet. He’s made everyone around him happy for years. Every kid in his school seems to love him, and when they see him, they run to him shouting his name as though they were greeting a conquering hero. This kid isn’t sucking life’s marrow from anyone. This kid is too busy relentlessly making life better for everyone who knows him.

So the next time you hear people like Dr. Kartzinel or parents like Jenny McCarthy on television describing autistics and autism, think of these pictures. Think of that smile. And then give them the finger.

9 Responses to “So very wrong”

1. What a sweetie Jared is!

   What a great comeback to Kartzinel’s quote.

   — autismcards October 8th, 2007 at 5:14 pm #

2. I think youo may have misinterpreted the meaning behind the quote. I read Jenny’s book and she loves her son dearly. She doesn’t believe that he has no soul at all. She and (I think)Dr.Kartzinel are saying that the disease is horrific and wants to steal the soul, if it is successful, but you can change that with behavioral therapy. Obviously you have done a good job doing that. But others aren’t necessarily as successful as you. I think she just wants for America to understand that this is a horrible epidemic and all of us need to do something about this to help our children!

   — Nicole October 9th, 2007 at 12:16 pm #

3. Nicole:

   I’m sure that you’re a well-meaning person, but as we all know, you can mean well and still be wrong.

   Firstly, I don’t think there is more than one way to interpret “Autism, as I see it, steals the soul from a child”. I don’t happen to believe in literal souls, but even taken in a metaphorical sense it’s a horrible thing to say about a person.

   Secondly, autism is not an epidemic, and what people need to do is chill the heck out. Autism is neither good nor bad, just like being tall is neither good nor bad. It’s a trait.

   (In fact, Jared’s size is a bigger problem than anything else now: buying adult-sized shoes for your first-grader who can’t tie laces is a pain.)

   And yes, people certainly need to help their children, but not in the way that Dr. Kartzinel wants them to: “probiotics”, hyperbaric chambers, “biomedical interventions” and other quackery don’t help children. They’re useless and expensive at best, dangerous and distracting (from real treatment) at worst.

   Dr. Kartzinel is a quack and a sensationalist just like the rest of his ilk at DAN!. I certainly hope that his autistic son never reads these terrible things his father has written, but I also hope his father will stop giving him these ludicrous “treatments.”

   — Jemaleddin October 9th, 2007 at 1:39 pm #

4. WOW that’s some harsh words about a great man and everyone has an opinion. But just to let you know wonderful beautiful people who are dedicated to making these kids the best that they can be….as I said on the other guy’s page to “letter to Dr.Kartzinel” he is one of my son’s doctors alongwith Dr.Julie Buckley and the tranformation I have seen in my child is amazing. Some people choose not to do bio-medical intervention and that is a personal choice but you shouldn’t call people quacks when it is something you obviously know nothing about. My son is going to take place in a federal funded study that is going to be published because their finding are significant and to prove these methods can work well for some children. I don’t think autism sucks the soul out of a child and I believe that was taken the wrong way by alot of people. In a nut shell I think Dr.Kartzinel ment that autism can be just so draining on our children, our marriages and our lives in general. That doesn’t mean we don’t love our children, I cant see my son any other way and everyone who meets him like you said about your son they just light up and fall in love with him. I thank God everyday for my child….I truly believe it is such a gift to have him. But there are some good doctors out there and he is one of them and he just wants to help his child and as many others as they can. It is the only place when I walk in the door that gives me hope for my child and doesn’t tell me just manage him and be prepared for him to be taken care of by someone else forever. I don’t belive the treatments are “ludicrous”, do the research , they are consistantly throwing out new facts to support thier work is helping children. I’m just giving out some info on my personal experience but since everyone is taken back by whathe said I am going to confront him when I see him and ask for an explanation for that comment and would be happy to let everyone know what he says. But autism is neither good nor bad I agree with that but it is hard life for the child and everyone that loves them……that is a fact. I’m not trying to start an argument but just because you don’t agree with something doesn’t mean you bash it.If you don’t agree with the treatments then don’t do them for your child but don’t attack people because they choose to.

   — Angela October 9th, 2007 at 6:01 pm #

5. We are the parent’s of 5 biological children with Autism, or as they prefer, Autistic children. These children have become increasingly better without the interventions touted by the doctor mentioned above.
   It is my responsiblity, as the parent of Autistic children to let other parent’s know that our children get better without interventions used by Dr. Kartzinel or other DAN! doctors.
   What I interpreted from what was written in this blog is that Dr. Kartzinel was very irresponsible in his wording of our amazing, gifted, talented and soulful children.
   Not once was “treatment” mentioned.
   Not once was “treatment” bashed.
   The only thing mentioned was the statement made by a doctor who should know better.
   He owes my children a huge apology….as to other children with Autism.
   To call my children “soulless” would be like me calling him a “quack”…..hmmmm
   Jeanette

   — Jeanette October 10th, 2007 at 9:00 am #

6. Actually he was refered to as a sensationalist and a quack and said the Dan protocal treatments were ludicrous. I have a son with autism as well and I feel like it is my job to let parents know that if therapy alone isn’t enough that there are other things you can do to heal your child. I do believe austim is treatable, not just managed. The bottom line is everyone of these kids are effected differently and parents should know all of the choices they have. There are facts to support these methods……some children are making leaps and bounds from bio-medical intervention……my son included. I saw a child affected so severly that he was walking around screaming at the top of his lungs and having to then be pend to the ground to keep him from rocking and bashing his skull open on the ground. You can’t compare a child like that to high functioning child……autism is what it is but for some of these children and families the effects are so extreme and devistating. If it is not going to hurt the child I think everyone should be able to make the treatment choice with out being critised…..we get enough of that for the world already. I think it is great if ST/OT and ABA helps some kids make these leaps and bounds but I feel that some need more. These are beautiful children everyone of them, they are so special and a gift no matter what degree autism has effected them. I truly think God gives special kids to special people…..because these kids are amazing!! We all have our own personal obsticles and battles we deal with everyday, but we are all fighting the same war together……healing our children.

   — Angela October 10th, 2007 at 5:16 pm #

7. We have 2 severely autistic children. The oldest is 16 and the youngest is 6..he is non-verbal. He also does not head-bang, throw tantrums, bite, kick, scream, etc. That is what the big Autism groups show about Autism.
   In our home, there is calm, most of the time.
   There needs to be a place to show this side of Autism. It does not always need to be the doom and gloom side.
   2 of our children were so severe, at one point, they were said to be “the worst Autism we have ever seen”.
   These 2 are now 7 and 10 years old. They are fully inclusioned without an aide. They make perfect scores and get honor roll every time.
   These were children that got better without one B12 shot, not one round of chelation, not one round of Hbot, not one B6 magnesium elixir….just great educators and therapists.
   We do not partake with ABA, RDI, or Floortime. We just parent these children. They amaze us every day.

   Alot of parent’s are trying several “treatments” at one time…how do they know which one is really doing anything? Is it possible the chidlren are getting better with maturity and the bodies own way of “healing” (as you put it).
   My children did not need to heal.
   If these doctors believe they are treating a child with mercury poisoning-then they need to stop calling these children autistic, but Mercury poisoned.
   Not only will that lower the rate from 1:150 back to a truer number, but parent’s could be happier they do not have an Autistic child…what they are trying to do any ways.

   Jeanette

   — Jeanette October 11th, 2007 at 6:50 am #

8. Whatever people that choose bio medical intervention “parent” Their children too, I work very hard with my son…..he is severly autistic and non-verbal. You don’t have to mock the term that I used, you know heal means with time and proper care that things get better. Just because things work for your children and even mine doen’t mean other families are going to have the same result and that is the point I was making. It has nothing to do with just chelation and mercury poisioning my son’s doctor’s like everyother DAN doctor run Alot of blood work to see what vitamins they are lacking and things of that nature. I’m sorry but anyone who just goes and has a physical done with a PCP could find those things out for themselves, there is nothing wrong with taking vitamins and eating food that is better for you. That is my whole point, that is all we really do for our son and the results have been great. I don’t believe in doing anything that could harm him like chelation I know he doesn’t have mercury posioning …he has autism….I don’t agree with it but I don’t disrepect peoples choices either. But I do know he has gut and intestional problems and that is the main thing we are trying to make better for him. If someother things get better in the process then great. I never implied that all severe autistic children head bang….as for what the big autism groups show I don’t follow them so I wouldn’t know. And as I said before all of these children are amazing, I have one of my own and get to see first hand the beauty in them everyday.

   — Angela October 11th, 2007 at 10:42 am #

9. So here’s the last word:

   Dr. Kartzinel is a quack:

   quack (kwak) n.

   1. An untrained person who pretends to be a physician and dispenses medical advice and treatment.
   2. A charlatan; a mountebank.

   That describes him perfectly well.

   There is no evidence to suggest that hyperbaric tanks, chelation, strange vitamin cocktails, “probiotics” or any of the DAN! “treatments” are effective, which makes them snake oil:

   snake oil n.

   1. A worthless preparation fraudulently peddled as a cure for many ills.
   2. Speech or writing intended to deceive; humbug.

   Claiming that your child did well after receiving them doesn’t mean anything unless your child has an identical twin that didn’t receive the treatments as the control in your experiment. (And you have 49 other sets of twins that got/didn’t get the same treatment at the same age.)

   Exposing your children to “treatments” for which there is no medical evidence is going to:

   • potentially harm your child
   • definitely harm your pocketbook without helping your child
   • distract you from doing something that actually would help your child.

   So knock it off.

   Comments are now closed because honestly I can’t stand to hear any more from the curebies, CAN!cers and DAN!atics. It breaks my heart to hear what they put their children through, and it nauseates me to hear them whine about how hard it is for them when they’re doing all these things that make it harder for their children. Grow up, accept your children, and get some real help.

   — Jemaleddin October 12th, 2007 at 9:12 am #