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What John Travolta could have done to help autism, how about now?
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(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)
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.
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