ABC/Lou RoccoJenny McCarthy is setting the record straight after an article falsely quoted her as saying that her 11-year-old son Evan had been misdiagnosed with autism in 2005. The story, which has since been removed from the gossip site Radar Online, claimed to have excerpts from a recent Time interview.
"Stories circulating online, claiming that I said my son Evan may not have autism after all, are blatantly inaccurate and completely ridiculous," McCarthy tweeted on Saturday, Jan. 4. "Evan was diagnosed with autism by the Autism Evaluation Clinic at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital and was confirmed by the State of California (through their Regional Center). The implication that I have changed my position, that my child was not initially diagnosed with autism (and instead may suffer from Landau-Kleffner Syndrome), is both irresponsible and inaccurate."
The View co-host continued, "These stories cite a 'new' Time magazine interview with me, which was actually published in 2010, that never contained any such statements by me. Continued misrepresentations, such as these, only serve to open wounds of the many families who are courageously dealing with this disorder."
McCarthy, 41, added that she is "taking every legal measure necessary to set this straight."
Since her son's diagnosis in May 2005, McCarthy has written a number of books—including Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism and Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds—sharing what she believes to be true about autism. Critics and medical experts have questioned some of the actress' findings.
In a February 2010 interview with Time, McCarthy said her son, then 7, was improving developmentally. "Evan couldn't talk—now he talks. Evan couldn't make eye contact—now he makes eye contact. Evan was antisocial—now he makes friends. It was amazing to watch, over the course of doing this, how certain therapies work for certain kids and they completely don't work for others."
She added, "When something didn't work for Evan, I didn't stop. I stopped that treatment, but I didn't stop."