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Jett Travolta: Victim of Autism, Kawasaki, or Scientology?
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by Terri Potratz | January 2, 2009 at 04:02 pm
145514 views | 101 Recommendations | 326 comments
Read the latest updates - Jett Travolta Autopsy Report: Seizure Diagnosis 'Premature'
The tragic death of Jett Travolta has brought up some sensitive issues surrounding his health condition and the possible (and perhaps preventable) reasons that may have attributed to his untimely passing.
Both Kelly Preston and John Travolta maintained that Jett, who was 16 when he died, suffered from Kawasaki Disease, which typically affects young children (under 5). There is some suspicion that there is an immunological cause to Kawasaki disease, though this theory has not been proven. Left untreated, the disease can lead to serious heart complications due to an inflammation of blood vessels - and often death due to heart attack.
Kawasaki disease is a treatable disease, and the most effective course is intravenous immunoglobulin, a blood transfusion that is rich in antibodies. If treatment is sought, death due to complications is extremely unlikely:
With early treatment, rapid recovery from the acute symptoms can be expected and the risk of coronary artery aneurysms greatly reduced. Untreated, the acute symptoms of Kawasaki disease are self-limited (i.e. the patient will recover eventually), but the risk of coronary artery involvement is much greater. Overall, about 2% of patients die from complications of coronary vasculitis. Patients who have had Kawasaki disease should have an echocardiogram initially every few weeks, and then every 1–2 years to screen for progression of cardiac involvement.It is also not uncommon that a relapse of symptoms may occur soon after initial treatment with IVIG. This usually requires re-hospitalization and retreatment. Treatment with IVIG can cause allergic and non-allergic acute reactions, aseptic meningitis, fluid overload and, rarely, other serious reactions. Aspirin may increase the risk of bleeding from other causes and may be associated with Reye's syndrome. Overall, life-threatening complications resulting from therapy for Kawasaki disease are exceedingly rare, especially compared with the risk of non-treatment.
So what happened to Jett? Reports indicate he hit his head on a bathtub, but it is unclear whether he was having a seizure at the time, or if he slipped, or if something else preceded his fall. Was this a complication of his bout with Kawasaki disease? Or autism?
Many people suspected that Jett was autistic (videos which were once available online that 'clearly' demonstrate Jett's developmental disability can no longer be found), but Travolta and Preston are prominent Scientologists and autism is not recognized by the cult religion:
In the past there have been reports that Jett was autistic, but Travolta always denied it, saying instead that his son suffered from Kawasaki Syndrome, a disease characterized by high fever, skin rash and swelling of the lymph nodes. Travolta follows Scientology, which does not recognize autism.
One of the tenets of Scientology is that mental illness is psychosomatic, and can only be treated through spiritual healing. You may remember Tom Cruise earning significant flak for statements to Matt Lauer concerning mental illness, namely his remark that psychiatry is a pseudo-science. Because of this fundamental belief on behalf of Scientologists, Jett certainly wasn't treated for autism, and was likely not appropriately treated for Kawasaki disease either (especially if his condition was misdiagnosed, as many people suspect it was).
Last year, one website wrote an eerily prophetic post concerning this event:
Four years ago, Kelly got out her hounds-tooth coat and pipe and giant magnifying glass and used her sleuthiness to determine that the cause was environmental toxins. Specifically, carpet cleaning chemicals. Then Kelly used a Scientology endorsed program created by L. Ron Hubbard to cure him. And it worked! No, wait, did I say, "it worked"? I meant to say, "it failed completely!"The real problem of course isn’t carpet based treachery, it's that Jett has autism, and no amount of meadow-scented deception is behind it. He's never been officially diagnosed of course, since the "church" won't allow it, but outsiders who know the affliction well say the signs are clearly evident.I say we give the Scientology method a few more years to kick in. Soon, Jett will be dead. Ta-da!
Critics of Scientology have been crying 'child abuse' for years in respect to the Travolta's disregard for autism and their unwillingness to address Jett's needs.
Folks picketed the Travolta/Preston family, saying that their refusal to seek treatment for the boy bordered on—or, you know, flat out was—child abuse. Travolta's brother Joey even produced a movie about the condition, but the family continued to shut down any reports that autism was involved.
Neighbours of the Travolta's, who also happen to be parents of an autistic child, had nothing short of shocking stories to tell with regard to Jett and how he was treated within the family:
The Kennys also claim that Kelly and John "let Jett sit in front of video games all day eating junk food, while they eat the best organic food money can buy. They exclude Jett from all social events because they are embarrassed.""Once," reports Kenny, "when Kelly took him to the movies, Jett started to have a meltdown and Kelly pointed at the nanny and ordered, 'Take care of it.'"
"Jett does not speak at all," confirms Kenny. "He has not even been taught how to communicate. We struggle every week to pay for our daughter's therapy. How dare he [Travolta] ruin his own son's chances of recovering! We want to get the word out on this."
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (326)
at 20:13 on January 2nd, 2009
Amazing how quickly the Scientology PR machine leaps into action! Within mere minutes of the first leak to the press, one of Travolta's private jets was on its way to Scientology HQ in Clearwater, Florida, then went on to the Bahamas, all while John was chatting up his buddies in government and the police about how to most quickly destroy whatever evidence may exist of wrongdoing via a quick and decisive cremation.
Sickening, but not for the reasons one would normally think. Every indication is that there is a connection between the boy's caregiver and the father which is at best "unsavory."
at 20:38 on January 2nd, 2009
My son started having seizures when he was 16. Doctors could find no reason for them. I cannot tell you how many times he seized in the bathroom in the middle of the night and hit his head. He also seized at the top of the stairs once and fell all the way to the bottom. He moved back in with me when he was 21 and he was put on Dilantin. We thought his seizures were under control because he had not had any obvious ones in a over a year. He suffocated in his pillow during a seizure on Feb 3, 08. My heart breaks for this family. I DO know the pain they have gone through and will continue to go through for the rest of their lives (I also lost my oldest daughter when she was 19-she was overseas with the Army-14 years ago). Speculation as to what kind of treatment or condition Jett had will do no one any good-we do NOT know either of these things...just send them positive thoughts, energy and love...they are going to need it.
at 06:50 on January 3rd, 2009
I want to express my compassion for your great losses,and my appreciation for your extending for comprehension of grief to the Travoltas.
Envious people can find satisfaction in tragedies befalling the rich,famous and privileged, and express it through judgmentalism.
Religious bias is still prevalent in this country.
A whole lot of this country eats junk food and watches videos. Any teenager is difficult to control.
How can we crticize Kelly for directing the nanny to "take care of it." That is a tiny snapshot into a family'slife. She may have been under unbearble stress.
If he had a life threatening seizure disorder, and the parents failed to provide anti-seizure medication, that's another story.
My teen age nephew has autism. if he died,it would break all our hearts and probably drive my sister mad. It is not possible to be a perfect parent to any child, let alone one with autism.
at 20:57 on January 2nd, 2009
This article and some of the comments tie autism and Kawaski disease, both medical conditions, to Scientology's as well as the secular world's, (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18533399/), belief that anti-depressants are abused. There is no connection to this the tragic death of John Travolta's son what so ever. The Church of Scientology heartedly endorses proper medical attention and treatment for underlying medical conditions. To continue to believe or profess otherwise is categorically incorrect.
at 22:49 on January 2nd, 2009
Publicly Scientology tells folks to get medical treatment but internally the denial of medical treatment is common. One only needs to do a search of legal databases to see the case histories of many people who were under the care of Scientology and denied medical treatment. See one example The Lisa McPherson Clause
at 21:06 on January 2nd, 2009
First of I do want to say that I am terribly saddened for the family. No family should ever have to lose a child. Also I have no idea whether Jett was autistic or not. What I can say is that when my son was 2 he was diagnosed with Kawasaki syndrome. At the time the doctors had said that there had been speculation that carpet cleaning solutions could have some link, but they did reiterate that it was speculative. Here's the thing I want to make perfectly clear, Kawasaki has nothing to do with neuological problems. It can be related to coronary anyeurisms. Our son had a rash and a fever of 105, which could not be broken with tylenol or motrin. The only way to break it was with IVIG. Usually with Kawasaki syndrome the fever has to last more than three days before they will even diagnose it as Kawasaki. The rash that our child had was all over his body. He had what was known as strawberry tongue. His symptoms were so classic that thirty other doctors were paraded into our room so that they could see what Kawasaki looked like. If Jett really had Kawasaki syndrome he would have been rushed to the hospital because you can't ignore those symptoms. The other thing, the part that over the years has bothered me about the Travoltas saying that he had Kawasaki syndrome, was that once treated it's done. There is the possibility of a relapse but it would not last 14 years! In the end it doesn't really matter. The poor family has just gone through something horrible. I just don't want his death blamed on something that it very clearly could not have been from.
at 21:30 on January 2nd, 2009
First and foremost, the untimely passing of Jett is tragic, and undoubtedly heartbreaking for the family. I don't care to make assumptions or speculate, but to offer some insight in to autism. While I am certainly not an expert in the field, I teach high school students with autism. Autism is a neurologically based disorder that affects 1 in 150 youth. Generally it is diagnosed early in life (12 to 18 months). While deficits in communication, language, and social reciprocity are often common, they are just a few of the effects of autism. I read above that someone said there is no treatment for autism other than behavior modification and development of communication. While there are certainly varying levels of severity of autism, many research based approaches have been developed for individuals with autism. Among them include a variety of approaches through occupational therapy and speech therapy. Additionally, it is not uncommon for individuals with autism to experience seizures. These seizures are not always the typical Grand Mal seizures one might envision, but often much milder, though autism DOES NOT cause seizures. Nonetheless, damage is done to the brain which affects development. In all of this, the one thing I don't understand is how autism was ever perceived by anyone to be a mental illness. Regardless of whether this young man had autism or not, and whether or not his family refused to accept a diagnosis of autism, it appears he died from a seizure, not autism. What good does it do to belittle the family in their time of grief over something that did not cause his death?
at 15:30 on January 4th, 2009
Autism Teacher: Until very recently, autism was classified as a mental disorder in the DSM. Just recently have medical professionals begun to consider it as a neurobiological disorder. This whole thing is just sad. Of course we feel for the Travolta's but anyone with an autistic child also has to question the (seeming) lack of interventions Jett received.
at 21:31 on January 2nd, 2009
If the violently insane Scientology Corporation's ringleaders ordered Jett to not receive medication or if they subjected him to their NarCONon fraud, I want some god damned Scientology ringleader or crime boss to do to prison for this latest Scientology related death! The god damned body count Scientology has has GOT to stop!
at 21:50 on January 2nd, 2009
There are so many children born to families who can't afford proper medical care. They would love to have the money to adequately take care of their children. Yet, here is a family who had the money, yet refused the care. As far as blaming the carpet chemicals, if that is your belief, then how do you explain the other cases? It's easier to blame someone else then yourself or genetics or a virus if you are brainwashed into believing the things scientologists believe in. If you believe things are psychosomatic & can be healed by the parent but the parent fails in this task then you have to blame it on an outside influence to save face. I'm sure the Travolta's loved this child despite his fraility or at least I hope so. The one good thing that can come out of this is that maybe a lot of families will see Scientology for what it is & stay away from it before the brainwashing. My child had seizures, medication stopped them & now he is off medicine. He had severe learning disabilities which we were able to overcome with hours of one on one tutoring & a medicine. He no longer needs medicine & graduated high school in AP classes. He inherited genes for both his conditions. I didn't blame it on anything else and because of that, was able to treat it for what it was. He also has had a bout with Stephens Johnson Syndrome. We treated it with medicine and continuous one on one care from mommy for the 6 months it took him to quit peeling his skin, nails & other areas that could have killed him. If scientologist truly believe in God, they should know that the medicines man has created are directly linked to God. He gave us the intellect to come up with all sorts of things to improve man's lot. If he didn't want us to use our brains for the good of man, he would have made us stupid, unable to educate ourselves. Scientologists are not stupid, they are ignorant and pig-headed. They don't want to use the brains their supreme being gave them.
at 21:51 on January 2nd, 2009
First of all he probably did not have autism, because you can see all over the internet photos of Jett as a youngster where he's smiling, cuddling and being very engaged with whoever is holding him or in the picture. This is not true of autism, in fact it's about the only thing that is true of the entire range of the autism spectrum.
Even if Jett did have a developmental disability, that does not mean he was autistic.
If in fact Jett suffered from seizures, he was more likely epileptic than either autistic or suffering from KS.
None of us know for sure what he actually had, because none of us know him or spent any length of time with him, and I'm sure very few of us are qualified to diagnose anyway.
The thing that does tug on the back of ones mind though , is that scientology and misunderstood ailments do not mix, and neither Autism nor KS are well understood.
I have a feeling Jett suffered from neither , however, and that we may never know what really happened.
at 22:15 on January 2nd, 2009
I am a teacher and have had students with autism. They can and do smile. It just depends on where they lie on the spectrum of autism. There is a great deal of variety in behavior.
at 22:16 on January 2nd, 2009
Whoa doggie! It is a myth that autistic children can not be affectionate. While many aren't, I have personal friends whose autistic children are very capable of affection. There are varying degrees of autism. There are also many different types of seizures & I might be wrong, but I don't think autism has a thing to do with epilepsy. Until the autopsy no one will not know what killed this child. Heck, sometimes an autopsy doesn't give you a definitive answer. And as far as Kawasaki dx not lasting into teen years. Yes, it is treatable and there are rarely relapses. But the damage it causes while it is active in your system will last a lifetime. Heart damage, aneurysms, etc. This child could have died from a seizure causing a fall & head injury. He could have died from an ruptured aneurysm that was a direct result of the Kawasaki Dx. He could have slipped & fell. Despite any of that, I am still furious at how Scientologists take care of their ill.
at 22:20 on January 2nd, 2009
I am a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who works for a practice that sees autistic children all the time. You are mistaken that autistic children are not affectionate, this is a myth. It is true that some severly afflicted children are not affectionate but the majority of children on the spectrum are able to show emotion to people they are close to. They hug and kiss and seek out family members for reassurance and comfort. What IS true is that all children on the autistic spectrum have social deficits. They have trouble with eye contact, back and forth conversation, maintaining personal space and other social "rules." Children high on the spectrum with things like Asperger's syndrome even marry and have their own families.
at 22:24 on January 2nd, 2009
I am a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who works for a practice that sees autistic children all the time. You are mistaken that autistic children are not affectionate, this is a myth. It is true that some severly afflicted children are not affectionate but the majority of children on the spectrum are able to show emotion to people they are close to. They hug and kiss and seek out family members for reassurance and comfort. What IS true is that all children on the autistic spectrum have social deficits. They have trouble with eye contact, back and forth conversation, maintaining personal space and other social "rules." Children high on the spectrum with things like Asperger's syndrome even marry and have their own families.
at 22:49 on January 2nd, 2009
There are various ranges on the Autism Spectrum. While it is true that some children with Autism do not show emotion, many do. My son does, as do many of the children in my special needs classroom.
Also, Autism does not mean seizures. My son has never had a seizure.
I have not seen the video that so many talk about. I can't comment on that.
at 03:50 on January 3rd, 2009
So because there are pictures of Jett smiling all over the net means he wasnt Autistic. Get educated. I have pictures of three smiling boys to, laughing making eye contact, engaging me, yet all three are Autistic.
Why dont you find the latest video of the Travoltas leaving a paris restuarant eaelier this year, John has a hold of Jetts arm and never lets go, stands in front of jett so the cameras couldnt see him and as the mother of 3 boys woth autism, I watched Jett in this video. There is no doubt in my mind this boy had Autism.
Now, to my mind, why would a boy with seizures of any kind o into a bathroom and not be checked on???? If my child was in a bathroom quiet for 20 minutes, id be banging on the door.Something is not right here.
at 17:52 on January 3rd, 2009
It is ironic that the thing you state to be the only thing true of the entire autism spectrum, happens to be one thing that is absolutely NOT true.My 15 year old son is very very loving and engages well with others.He tends to look into space rather at the camera, making photo ops a bit difficult. But many many autistic people are very affectionate and expressive.
at 12:11 on January 4th, 2009
interesting
at 09:24 on January 4th, 2009
To Jay Aracaro
My oldest has autism and has always smiled and has always loved to be cuddled. My son is high funcationing and they is a wide spectrum of autism out there so please don't talk about something you don't know about unless you research it.
I'm sadden by what happen to Jett. I understand that Autism can not be blamed for the cause of death, but they should have watch their son like someone said earlier on here, why didn't they notice until the next morning. If he did have seizures you would think they would check up on him often.
I think scientology is wacked!!
at 22:07 on January 2nd, 2009
First, let me say that my heart breaks for the Travolta family. As of now there has been no determination as to the cause of death. I ask that everyone take a step back from judging anyone.
I agree with "Autism Teacher" above. Autism did not cause Jett's death. We do not know if he had Autism, Kawasaki Disease or something else.
I am the mom of a special needs child and a teaching assistant to children with special needs, some of whom have Autism. I see some parents very much in denial about the child's diagnosis and those that are very informed and many in between. Unless you have walked in someone's shoes you will never truely know their life.
My son has High Functioning Austim, as well as a few other issues. He attends a special day school, sees a mental health therapist 1x a week, sees a Psyciatrist 1x a month for medication management, he has Occupational Therapy 2x a week and Speech Therapy 1x a week. I do all I can to help him be a happy person and to learn how to deal with the outside world. It is not an easy life and I have seen many parents who are mentally unable to deal with this diagnosis.
My prayers are with all those who knew and loved Jett.
at 22:09 on January 2nd, 2009
I am very sad for the Travola family. My thoughts and prayers go out to them. I would like to say that having a child on the spectrum of autism and watching the video of the Travoltas leaving the hotel, Jett looks like he is stemming in the van. My son does the very same thing. I understand a family wanting to be private about their child's special needs, but at the same time it would sure help the rest of us if someone like the Travoltas came out to support autism.
at 22:29 on January 2nd, 2009
Former Scientologist Tory Magoo addresses the tragedy. She can relate - she almost died from siezures when the organization wouldn't allow her to take treatment.
at 22:35 on January 2nd, 2009
I have seen the video of Jett being led out to a van with his family and caretaker. He is clearly autistic. He has no facial expression and doesn't say a word to anyone. What sixteen year old would tolerate being led around like that? The caretaker even buckles his seat belt for him. It looks like his family was blocking the view of his caretaker buckling his seatbelt. Although I feel very sorry for their loss. I feel really sorry for Jett that he wasn't given the treatment he needed to reach his full potential. He looks completely out of it. Was he even on meds for his seizures or were they detoxing him to cure his problem?
at 09:44 on January 3rd, 2009
Cala
How do you know this child's full potential?
Every child with or without autism is different. There are children that have been inundated with various treatments whose condition NEVER changes. I talked to another parent of an autistic child who worked with families - one got the child on GFCF and went on and on about differences and improvements NO ONE ELSE could see) My son gained weight and was healthier but it didn't change his behaviour. How do you know they didn't ever seek treatment that didn't work or that the docs wanted to put him on psyche drugs with serious side effects - there are some meds I will admantly refuse to put my son on.
Lets wait and see what the autopsy says and leave it there.
None of you lived with this family.
It is amazing the stupid comments made (not necessarily Cala's but others) Autistic children don't smile or cuddle...
My son is very affectionate. But another autistic child might not be.
Humankind has little to none compassion and so much judgement of others - to the Canadian that talked about Americans - this is a worldwide issue which is why so much is falling apart - oops anothre topic.
Prayers and blessings to the Travoltas who lost a significant member of their family.
at 22:46 on January 2nd, 2009
What exactly is stemming? I'm not familiar with the terminology.
at 22:56 on January 2nd, 2009
I explain to people that sees my son stem that is something like biting your nails or rocking. It is self stimulation for that person. My son makes a few noices and often puts his hands close to his face (just like Jett did in the video). He tries to regulate it especially when he is in the classroom by chewing gum or doing hardwork (jumping on the trameline or running up and down the stairs). My son is mainstreamed in school, but only because he does quite a bit of therapy and is on medication to help him be successful.
at 22:48 on January 2nd, 2009
Yes the Travoltas/Prestons should be left to grieve and deal with their loss but if their child was neglected and his autism untreated then it is everyone's business. And if that is the case how dare they!
There is a much scarier thing happening here. How many non-celebrity Scientologist parents are abusing their children because they refuse to get help. Psychiatry is not bad. Sometimes the drugs prescribed don't work, but if left untreated the results are even worse than not medicating (in extreme cases of course).
at 22:49 on January 2nd, 2009
Was Jett hidden or locked in the bathroom? I know the Travolta's were hosting a giant party down at the beach with 60 VIPs...
Poor Jett!!! How long was he in there...nobody has said he was showering and slipped...and only the housekeeper checked on him...
at 22:50 on January 2nd, 2009
If he's autistic, what was he doing on a trip to the Bahama's without his parents? I know he was with a caretaker, but there's something so wrong about his vacation being with a only a "babysitter", without John And Kelly. Messed up.