They are brave, optimistic and strong-willed.
These celebrities have found their own ways of dealing with the challenges of autism,
and living real, happy lives with their wonderful kids.
Let us get inspired by people who did not get scared and crushed the stereotypes about
living with autistic children.
Singer Toni Braxton has opened up about her struggles with her son Diesel's autism diagnosis.
At first it was a real tragedy for Braxton.
She was shocked.
Diezel was only 3 when he was diagnosed as living with autism.
"I remember the signs: like no eye contact, very little communication," she said.
The singer was trying to find a reason for this and even started to believe his autism
diagnosis was punishment from God because she had an abortion a few years earlier.
In her new memoir, Unbreak My Heart, Toni revealed that she got pregnant whilst taking
acne medication that is known to cause birth defects.
And so the desicion was made to terminate her pregnancy.
Both of Braxton’s parents are pastors and she grew up in a strictly religious home.
That is why she was very ashamed to make that desicion and felt a lot of guilt.
"When my youngest son was diagnosed with autism I feared that I was being punished for my
earlier actions."
But her attitude has changed tremendously since she said that.
Over time, Toni realized that her son is special and learns in a different way.
She became a very vocal advocate for autism awareness throughout her son’s struggle
with the disorder.
"What I've come to understand through my friends at Autism Speaks, is there is nothing wrong
with our babies, and it's nothing you've done, or you could have done differently, it's just
what the situation is."
Braxton also discovered that with early diagnosis and the right interventions, these behaviors
can be curbed, allowing autistic individuals to manage their disability and feel more comfortably
socially and simply be happier with themselves.
And two years ago, Braxton openly thanked to Suzanne Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks,
who strongly contributed to Diezel`s ability to overcome his diagnosis with her tips and programs.
She now describes Diezel as a “social butterfly.”
"“Our lives have changed,” she says,
""He’s our social butterfly.
He’s the one who plays with friends and hangs out all the time."""
And that is a great example of how people with autism can fill their lives with joy
and love.
The hardest punch Sly Stallone ever took wasn’t in the ring, but in his daily life, when he
faced the challenge of autism.
With his first wife Sasha Czack, they noticed that their son Seargeoh was having trouble communicating.
The Stallones reacted as any other parents might.
“We both broke down,” says Sasha.
But they didn't let it get the best of them.
In true Rocky style, they decided to fight.
First, came the acceptance of their reality.
"God and nature made him different.
We have to accept Seargeoh the way he is and understand that his way is just more quiet
and reserved," Stallone said.
They had nicknamed him their “silent genius” since he could draw, write letters and repeat
certain words, but he did not actually speak.
Secondly, both of Seargeoh’s parents have become advocates not only for their own son
but for other adults with autism.
For that, the Stallones set up a research fund.
Sylvester even used his films` premieres to raise money for the fund.
They formed a new attitude for dealing with the matter.
“I believe any success in life is made by going into an area with a blind, furious optimism,”
he said.
“I am not the richest, smartest or most talented person in the world, but I succeed
because I keep going and going and going….”
They never stopped trying to develop their beloved child.
Their son had special therapy sessions twice a week and it helped him improve.
Through integration with other children and consistent training, Seargeoh has been now
diagnosed as being a ‘high-functioning’ autistic individual.
Together with attitude goes daily work, which requires gentleness and patience.
As Stallone shared: "with a child like this you have to put away your ego.
You can’t force him into your world.
I sort of go along with whatever he is doing."
Stallone said that if his son starts to draw, he sits down with him and draws, and if the
boy suddenly shifts to puzzles, they start to work on them together.
Though it is a hard job, the Stallones found a way to give their purest love to Seargeoh.
Actor Gary Cole also has a daughter on the autism spectrum.
When my daughter Mary was diagnosed with autism in 1995,” he said, “all I had to go on
was RainMan.”
So he started to use his fame as a platform to help other parents facing what can be a
challenging diagnosis.
The actor supported The Help Group and Autism Speaks to upgrade the educational needs for
autistic kids and their families.
He warned that when a child has autism, “your original agenda as a parent is set aside.”
Cole believes the most important thing parents can do in this case is to “seek answers,
and the earlier the better.”
When he and his wife, actress Teddi Siddall understood that Mary has the disorder, they
introduced her to a variety of therapies.
With the help of a personal aide, Mary successfully attended public elementary and middle schools
in Studio City, California, and even went to a special learning facility for her high
school years.
It all happened because of the strong will and persistence of Gary and Teddi!
And after Teddi Siddall passed away this year, Gary is doing his best to continue caring
for Mary, the way he did with his wife.
You may know him as David Rossi in the popular TV series “Criminal Minds”
or the voice of Fat Tony on “The Simpsons,”
but what you might not know is that actor Joe Mantegna is the parent of an autistic child.
Joe and his wife, Arlene, once heard the words no parent wants to hear: “I’m pretty sure
your daughter is autistic.”
It all started from an emergency C-section, when their daughter Mia was born.
Weighing just 1 pound 13 ounces, she spent the first three months of her life in intensive care.
“She was a very strong little girl,” says Mantegna.
“I saw babies of much higher birth weight do much worse for some reason and not survive.”
Over time, the parents noticed that Mia's speech was not at the same level as the other
kids and there were problems with attention span and focus.
These differed from the warning signs of a preemie’s typical problems.
So they had to go to the neurologist.
The doctor gave Mia the pivotal diagnosis.
“I remember it hit my wife and me like a ton of bricks, because, first of all, it was
just a word we had heard about,” he says.
It was 1990 and almost nobody had a clue what is all about.
What causes it and how to manage it.
Once they overcame the initial shock, the couple set out to do whatever they could.
"We thought if we were going to face this, let’s all face it together.
Let’s do this as a family,” he says.
In Chicago, they met a teacher who had a sister with autism, and she convinced them that it
was all right to put Mia in a regular first-grade class, as long as the kids and the teacher
understood what was going on.
So they did.
Recalling Mia’s first day at the school, when the teacher walked in front of the class
and said, “This is Mia.
She’s going to be a little different than the rest of you kids.
She might start singing to herself, she might walk up to the blackboard, she may talk to
herself, she may say some inappropriate things.
It doesn’t matter.
She has autism.
And we’re all going to help her.”
He and his wife were in tears.
It was the first time anybody had done something like that.
The teacher helped the parents manage the communication: “Just let the kids know",
she said, "once you include them, once you make them part of the process, they get it.
They’re very supportive."
And that is when Joey and his wife understood how to make it all work out:
“Passing the information to others makes all the difference.”
These days Mia works at Mantegna’s wife’s restaurant, Taste Chicago, where she successfully
does the bookkeeping.
Aside of that, she has different social programs that help her feel more comfortable with the world.
Mantegna sees himself as a lucky man, because he can take care of his daughter.
He says: "It’s not like the movies where they live happily ever after and everything’s
perfect all the time.
But it’s okay.
You just do the best you can and move forward.
That’s what we live by, and that’s been fine.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey star had tried for years to have another baby, and
when Nicholas finally was born - Laurita was 39.
She was more than happy.
But the little child started to regress in development.
“We had no idea what was going on.”
After meeting multiple doctors, the Lauritas received the feared diagnosis.
The actress was most of all worried about Nicholas`s ability to be independent when
he’s older.
She spent all her time researching what they can do for him.
Her husband Chris said: “You never want to think that your child isn’t perfectly healthy.
We didn’t want to believe it was true.”
But when the acceptance came, They started to raise awerness with help of RHONJ.
The show gave the parents a huge platform to speak on issues near and dear to their hearts.
“All of my ups and downs throughout my seven years on the show made it completely worth
it,” says the actress.
But it wasn’t all an easy road for Laurita and husband Chris.
“It was very hard to see your son taking a gradual decline in his developmental milestones,”
she confesses.
“He was completely tuned out to us; he wouldn’t even answer to his name.”
But together with tragedy, a surprising friend came into Laurita`s life.
It was actress Jenny McCarthy, who has been very open about her own struggle with her
son Evan’s journey with autism.
She gave Laurita support and advice for helping her son.
McCarthy also advised Laurita to experiment with a change in Nicholas’ diet.
“If I can get him healthy from the inside out, he’ll respond better to his therapies,”
she says.
The entire combination of approaches helped Nicholas make significant progress since his diagnosis.
“[He] makes a lot of eye contact, he has a lot of words in his vocabulary now, he is
starting to put together sentences, he reads very well above his age,” Laurita boasts.
“He is much more engaged and we see progress all the time with him.”
As a young mother dealing with the beginning of an autism diagnosis, Laurita advises: “I
would say believe that autism is treatable.”
“My son brings so much joy to our lives and we have different experiences with him
than with our typical children, but they are still amazing.
It is opening yourself up to that.”
We hope that such openess will help others not only to accept the realities of autism,
but also inspire them to see the parenting of kids with special needs as a part of a
happy journey.
Thank you for watching.
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