Jett Travolta: Victim of Autism, Kawasaki, or Scientology?

First Scientology-related death of 2009. There were 4 in 2008 - mostly people who killed themselves when they had some kind of psychiatric problem and Scientologists told them to stop taking their medicine.

And people wonder why we protest Scientology. Rest in Peace, Jett Travolta.

here folks is where you will see the power of money

I AM A MOTHER OF AN AUTISTIC CHILD AND I AM ALSO A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A CULT, AND THAT THE IGNORANCE THAT FOLLOWS IS MIND BLOWING. I AM A SINGLE MOTHER AND I STRUGGLED TO GET MY SON ALL THE HELP HE NEEDED. HE IS NOW SIXTEEN YEARS OLD AND IS IN A MAINSTREAM PUBLIC SCHOOL. THIS IS TRULY THE SADEST CASE I HAVE EVER HEARD OF AND I THINK THAT THEY SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH SOME KIND OF NEGLECT. SO SAD

Scientology is evil. Who in their right mind could possibly deny a child medical care because a religion said so? No doubt they are greiving, or are they? From my searches on the net, I find little about Jett, just Ella. Did they hide him in a closet because perhaps the church wouldn't approve of a child with such a disorder? I am terribly sorry for their loss, but I am even sorry that Jett wasn't born to regular people like us who would have moved heaven and earth to find a way for him to have a productive and safe life! Shame on the Travolta's for not helping such a special gift from God, a child!

I am a mother of an autistic son that is 9 years old. Early childhood special education is A MUST!!! If it weren't for psyciatric medication, my son would have self injured, and been dead years ago!!! These children are unaware of how to self regulate therselves. I Know because I've lived it for 9 years!!!

All I can say is this is the saddest case of child neglect I can think of. This child could have had the best of care, the best and instead it appears they hide him away. Try to find pics of him on the web, there not there. Only a few, out of 5 pages on a search I found maybe 3 current pics of Jett  all the rest were John, Kelly and Ella. Why? Why would you hide you son? Is it because Scientology doesn't approve of their child? Because according to Scientology Jett brought this on himself? How does a child do that? 

At one time I was a huge fan of John's. I adored him as an actor. I would like to blame this on Kelly as she never moved me, but frankly how could John not have sought help for the most precious gift he will ever have, a child? 

Last but not least, Rest in peace Jett.

Just because a parent denies thier child's illness or developmental disability does not negate it. However as a parent choosing how to raise thier child is their perogative. Denying treatments is bad for all, family as well as child. Religious beliefs though are a family's rights. My questions  is if Jett did have seizures, and whether it was scientology or just mom and dad's decision not to medicate, why would they not have researched an alternative to medications? The ketogenic diet has worked amazingly well for persons who suffer siezures and do not respond to medications. While it isnt the easiest diet, generally most people like many of the foods. I cannot imagine any parent watching a child having a seizure and then not wanting to protect them from it regardless of their religion. I have a son with autism that also has seizures. I didnt ever recognize his siezures until he was being tested and they were pointed out to me. Not the typical type. As a result of having them for years unknown to me, he was affected neurologically. It breaks my heart as his mom and also a nurse I did not see his staring into space as a seizure. But immediately he was taken to a neurologist and given an eeg and medicated. If it had been against my religion, i would at least tried the ketogenic diet. It is obvious these parents loved this child. It is sad they put thier personal beliefs before the welfare of their child. But as judgemental as the masses are, the reality of all this is they will have to live with  this for the rest of their lives. When the headlines change to another horrifc story... they will still be without a child, and surely question the decisions they made with regards to him.

My heart goes out to the Travolta family. My brother also died at a young age and I saw what it did to our family it was deviastating. It was a nightmare I hope that they are given a chance to grief privately and for once the media leave them at peace. I love you John Travolta be strong and may god be with you and your family.

I believe that it is the right of the CHILD  to get PROPER  psyciatric  testing.. I am the Mother of 6, my youngest son is 9, and he is autistic! Early childhood special education is A MUST!!! Along with proper medication and behavioral management ensures the success of these kids...These kids NEED us as their advocates, as they don't have the voice!!! If it weren't for medication, my son would have been dead years ago.. He doesn't have the ability to self regulate!!! And for years had NO FEAR!!! He needed close supervision to ensure his safety, and it completely blows my mind that if Jett did have autism, he was not given the opportunity that every developementaly disabled child should have!!!

everyone has their beliefs........just leave them alone.  you know they are suffering and it will never go away.

There are many assumptions and jumping to conclusions here. I don't see them as warranted.

That the family did not help Jett because they did not acknowledge his autistic condition. That their religion prevented them to provide adequate medical care. That he was not treated for his seizures.That Jett did not enjoy life as much as another disable kid would.That he was neglected. That he did not receive the best of cares. That the family did not do all they could for the wellness of their children.

How the hell do you know any of this?

I don't, and I don't assume that this is true just because a bunch of people opposed to their religion tell me so and want us to jump to conclusions that would satisfy their hatred before we even got the results of the autopsy or have more concrete information about what exactly happened and what they did or did not do.

From what I can see through the media rather than through gossipmongers, the family deeply cared for their children, and I am quite confident that they put all the means they had at their disposal to find what they deemed as the best for them.

While it may be true that they did not acknowledge the possible autistic condition of their child, for which there is no treatment that can cure it, and for which there is no medication, they did acknowledge his history of seizure, and that's what matters, because that is the truly dangerous part of it. Obviously they did all they could do and deemed right to treat these seizures. What they did exactly nobody seems to know, so why jump to conclusions and be so hasty to lay blame at a time when it is most unwelcome?

Please sit back, wait and think, before launching your pointing fingers through the keyboard.

after my father died, I had days where all I could think about was him.  even now years later I still think of his smile or something he said or the way he looked. part of me, let this family be.we all have our own sadness,only time heals, if the family reads this I want you to know ,the time thing really works,the problem is you have to do the time. but you will get use to it,I know I did it and now I even smile when I think of dad.   

"super parent" - you certainly have a strong opinion about social workers! I'd like to know what degree you have to form any kind of educated opinion about this situation? I'm also a social worker - with 20 years experience at two of the best hospitals in the country and a graduate degree from a top Ivy League school. Hardly a "half wit", lol.

I personally think it is irresponsible for anyone to condemn the Travolta's without knowing more information. Sure, some of the comments in the article above were disturbing but just because it was posted on the internet does not make it true. I'm not a Scientologist nor do I agree with most of what I have read about their beliefs but as an American I do support religious freedom and would like to think the Travolta's did what they thought was best for their child based on their belief system.  Regardless of how it happened, the loss of one's child is a heartbreaking tragedy and my prayers are with them. Godspeed Jett.

 I believe that autism, a syndrome, exists and can respond positively to treatment.  Certainly, each child deserves to have that opportunity.  Most of us believe that part of parental responsibility is obtaining the best medicare care possible for our children.  Since Scientology does not believe autism exists and the Travoltas are Scientologists, they don't believe their son was autistic. I don't know what medical issues Jett Travolta had.  He may have had Kawasaki disease, he may have had epileptic seizures.  He may have also been autistic.  There are enough reliable reports suggesting he was autistic to wonder if that is so.  If he exhibited symptoms that pointed to a medical diagnosis of autistic syndrome and was only treated using Scientology's precepts, then most of us might be apalled.  Some might consider it child abuse.  Here in the USA, it falls under the category "religious freedom."

I can't imagine being a high profile public figure with a very structured belief system and having a child with autism and/or on the autistic spectrum.  Like all belief systems, there will be times when situations will juxtapose themselves.

Children with autism or on the autistic spectrum have a much harder time just understanding their environment.  It really is a communication problem more than anything. As a parent you try to do your best with the information that is given to you.  Autism is like a big puzzle.  It takes the correct environment with the correct teachers, with the correct diet, and in some cases, the correct medication.  Children with autism will have a 50% chance of epilepsy.  That is a fact.  You have to medicate for epileptic seizures.  Otherwise you have to have someone with that person all the time.  It is horrible to be in this situation.  As a child I had both undiagnosed autism and epilepsy.

As far as feeding autistic kids, they might have oral and tactile sensitivities so it may be impossible to get them to eat correctly (fruits, vegetables).  So, it is no surprise that Jett was being fed, most probably, a high carbohydrate diet.

It is difficult to make judgments about this tragic event.  You have to have had the experience to understand the situation.  I know that these parents will be questioning themselves for the rest of their lives on whether or not they did the right thing.  This will be the true test of their belief convictions.

I am in no way judging or blaming John or Kelly and my heart goes out to them over this news, but finding out this bit in regards to Scientology bothers me a bit:

According to the Church of Scientology, people with mental illnesses are "degraded" and capable of curing themselves by working harder on the church's teachings.

According to the incontrovertible doctrine of Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard - he be labeled a "degraded being" that brought his affliction onto himself.

I've long admired John Travolta and Will Smith (both into Scientology) and never let one's belief bother me as long as it was not shoved down my throat...but now I wonder would they look at my son as a degraded being?

Our twin son Cameron hit all the early developmental milestones right along with his twin brother. But around 34 months old, odd behavior started up (toe walking, stimming, loss of speech, eye contact diminished) and became more and more frequent. Shortly after our twins turned 4 yrs old in Aug 2007, our dr admitted Cameron has Autism

How WE learned about Autism 

Shortly after learning of our son's dx, I found a blog dated June 11 2007 that showed Jett toe walking... I cried then, and cry again today.

What I find odd as of late, is that Joey Travolta's web site is no longer accessible (www.joeytee.com) - now only a cached version can be found - was last working Dec 28 2008. He was very involved with people with disabilities and help produce Normal People Scare Me

I'm not into any religion (anymore) but I do believe Jett is on "The Other Side" as sung by Don Conoscenti based on my personal reasons.

My heart goes out to the Travolta Family. Rest in peace Jett.

I dont think I understand the scientology-I mean do they have their head in the clouds- How can they say autiam does not exsist when it clearly does? I whole-heartedly believe that people are entitled to worship any religion-but this "religion" disregards health issues, and really is ridiculous- to people afflicted with autism "degraded" is immature and plain ridiculous. I have a cousin who ia autistic and based on what I have seen Travolta's son was also- I am sorry that they lost their son-it must be unbearable- but maybe this awful lesson will change their coo-coo ideas about health and religion...

PS- Will an autopsy prove what his disease was?

RIP Jett- you were a beautiful boy.

I find that really odd!

We have seen repeated statements here and on other fora stating that Scientology does not allow medical treatment, that it does not recognize autism, that it does not allow its members to take medication against seizure.

I wanted to see where is that part of Scientology tenets. Where is it written?

And you know what? Nobody seems able to provide the actual quotes to that effect!

Surprising, no?

So far I have seen the claim repeated everywhere, but not a single reference to an actual Scientology source proving that really are against medical drugs, and against the medical treatment of autism and seizure. It seems to come from nobody else than people opposed to Travolta/Preston religion, and when challenged to produce the actual quotes to that effect, you will only hear a resounding silence.

Why do we assume that this is automatically true because they say-so? Is that critical thinking?

They make quote statements to the effect that Scientology is against psychotropic drugs treating mental illnesses. But, lo and behold, autism is not a mental illness, so that does not prove they are against the treatment of autism. And drugs against seizures are not psychotropic drugs, and seizure is a medical condition as well, not a mental illness.

So pleases, those who are so eager to make damaging accusations against a grieving family, speak up, and show as where exactly Scientology states that autism does not exist, that people should not take medication against seizure, and that people should not seek medical treatments.

I am waiting...

Jett looks completely normal in his younger pictures, which is very unusual for kids with autism.  Whatever caused his seizures is most probably what killed him.

Sadly I do believe the fact that his parents are Scientoligist,  probably kept them from getting him the medical treatment he needed.  If there is any thing good to come from this tragedy maybe it will show Scientolgy for the Cult it really is!

A cult masking as a Religion to keep from paying millions of dollars in Taxes.  Let us not forget it was Ron Hubbard's wife who went to prison for breaking into a federal building and stealing papers that would have exposed them as a non- religious organization having nothing to do with God.

My heart goes out to any parent who loses a child, but seriously, isn't Tom Cruise proof enough what a joke Scientology really is????

how strange that everybody seems to know whatever is going on with other peoples children. I was always under the impression that we are free to raise our children as we want to as long as there is no childabuse and I refuse to believe that is an issue here.

misunderstanding scientology is no reason for spreading ugly gossip.

i am not a scientologist, but i eat no meat. you know how many people tell me how bad it is for my kids to go through life without eating meat??

i know nothing about the travolta familie, short of the stories in the papers, but i know one thing: autism doesn't kill

so maybe everybody can leave the travola's alone with thir grief, that would be the most humane thing to do

As the parent of an autistic child and a health care professional I'd like to clarify a few things. First of all Autism is a neorologic disorder, that is manifests itself behaviorally does not mean it is a psychiatric disorder. Second, no parent owes it to anyone to publicly affirm nor deny ANY medical issue their child may or may not experience. Anyone who believes otherwise is treading on very thin ice and should be careful. Our constitutional right to privacy protects us from this kind of disclosure and anyone who wants to believe that either of these grieving parents owed that kindof disclosure by virtue of their celebrity had better be prepared to allow anyone to freely open their own medical records for public display. These parents provided 24/7 support and care for their son, medical care and love for him. What caused his death is unclear. What is based in fact is that AUTISM does not cause death, however seizures do and there are plenty of children and adults with seizure disorders who despite the best attempts at treatment unfortunately die every year. These parents were in no way obligated to do anything other than to advocate on behalf of their son, which by all accounts they did. I would invite anyone who is intersted to educate yourselves on autism, and search deep for the comapssion that any oof us would hope for shoudl the tragedy of the loss of a child befall our family.

I believe people have the right to decide if they want modern medicine to intervene.  Personally for myself and my kids I choose modern medicine.  To live and then die a natural life is a choice. It's a religion that tells you that you have to believe it this way that is wrong. But then how does one know if the Travolta's belived this first themselves and then were drawn to their choice of religion based on this previous belief?  And to call it child abuse is wrong if this is what their belief system is.  Depending on what the symptoms are I choose alternative care first then move to the lesser of modern medicine practice.  For me it is the avoidance of strong drugs as an answer for everything.  For instance...i chose PT and massage therapy over muscle relaxers for some muscle spasms I was having.  We all make our own choices for ourselves and our children.  I believe that is a right we have.  Even at the end stage of life we have our living wills the hospitals have you prepare.  Do you want to be kept alive through the marvels of modern medicine? Or do you want to die a natural death?  And yes Scientology is a recognized religion in the US but in Europe it is considered a cult.  But in the US being recognized as a reiligon is for tax purposes and other legal issues.  If you start looking at any religion you can see cult like activites as well. They all teach you to believe by a certain prescribe dogma.  Catholtics don't believe in the use contraceptives!!

wrote thre books on auism.   comments are all helpful   autistic-like and pervasive developmental disorder appear likely.  yes jett flucks fingers in front of face.  also in picture with mother at beach, jett is walking on his toes.    very sad for jett he probably had good pitntial to at least communicate in some fashion..   where was the HELMIT if he had seizuees.   something to protect him with or without 24hr supervision.

Someone better save the daughter - before its too late.  Recently, John Travolta was on a talk show bragging how easy he was with his kids and let them stay up all night.  Now we find out his son was dying.  If his son was sick, he could have used his celebrity to bring awareness to this disease - not hide it.  After reading about the so-called disease - it was treatable.  The boy did look normal as a young child.   With all his money and success, I am appalled at the way he raised his son.  Money and success should be used for good use – not flying planes and buying houses.  Where was he when his son died?  The wife sounds nuts too. Oh, but their religion allows for nuttyness.  The authorities should freeze his assets and take his daughter away from him and his wife, until they get to the bottom of this.   Too bad if Travolta is rich. I doubt he even graduated from high school, which makes him pretty stupid.   I will never see another movie of his...

After reading all the posts  on the topic of Jett Travolta, autism and mental illness, I conclude there is still not enough being done to help de-mystify these very real brain disorders. I am a mother of a grown daughter who suffers greatly from serious mental illness and the last thing she needed once diagnosed is her parents being in denial. How unfair to the child on any level of diagnoses to pretend, deny or avoid the realities. The fact that the brain is an "organ" is reason enough to take these issues seriously. My husband has diabetes which of course is caused by not enough insulin being produced in his pancreas. He was diagnosed at age 5 and because his parents, especially his father would not accept that any of his children were not "perfect" did not get the care or education he should have gotten and was only told to stay away from sugar. Well that advise left him totally blind by the age of 19 and now in his early 50's is facing kidney failure.I have to wonder what Scientology teaches about his illness and if it is also taught that he brought it on himself! In the case of our health, both physical and mental, ignorance is not bliss..............it is downright dangerous!