Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete recently appeared on Oprah. The following are responses from our readers.

-Those women were so brave! I loved it and thank you so much for the amazing Hope that they gave me! Sounds weird , but my daughter's name is Hope and she was diagnosed with Autism 2 years ago! She's doing great, but it's been a long road and the road is getting longer. But that's ok. My dad has always said "It is what it is." Thanks so much for the show! Keep up the good work!

-Jenny was dynamic. She epitomizes exactly what so many of us are going through. She stated that vaccines were at the heart of our problem and got Oprah to listen. The last Oprah show about autism totally denied the link with vaccinations. I am a grandmother of two amazing grandsons who have autism. One is recovering nicely an the other is on his way. The gluten free/casein free diet along with other biomedical interventions have shown remarkable results. I felt such a connection with Jenny. She looks and sounds like my daughter with the same message. While this diagnosis is devastating, you just need to say, "I am not going to accept this as a final diagnosis. I am going to do everything in my power to turn this around." The sad part is that the biomedical is most often not covered by insurance and the treatment can cause financial devastation to families.

-Thank you, thank you, thank you Jenny McCarthy! As much as I don't wish anyone to have a child with autism a big thank you for being a persistent go getter who looked for answers herself versus letting the system dictate what to do. My wife thought I was nuts as I discovered Bio-med and it researched for months. Luckily she supported what I was doing even though she did not understand it. It took her longer but she came around to understand it. Myself, like hundreds of other parents could have written a book like Jenny McCarthy's but ours would probably never get published. Like it or not she is on a higher platform that gets recognition. But a huge thanks for using that recognition for putting out the voice for us, the hundreds of parents with similar stories that don't have a chance for that higher platform. And most of all, I am happy that her son has improved. Add another to the list of children with autism that have been treated and have improved. It is only one more, but she represents and is the voice of hundreds.

-This topic is too big for one show.... i think a great follow up would be to encourage Oprah to do a week-long series on 'what to do' for all of the families struggling with raising a child 'on the spectrum'. One-off shows are interesting, however a series would allow for a more comprehensive look at this complicated topic. Too many families in this situation are stuck in the emotional stage. Some are depending on the public school systems. Others simply do not have the resources to fly around the country seeking the help of specialists, so they depend on their pediatricians, who usually are not savvy regarding therapeutic interventions. Sadly, there are some parents that believe nothing can be done. What all of these families need is A PLAN----detailed, constructive information regarding WHAT TO DO TO HELP YOUR CHILD. Oprah has great reach, and i can think of no better forum to inform and empower mainstream America about this growing epidemic.

-I am a School Social Worker for Autistic children and I watched Jenny McCarthy on Oprah this week. While I give her the utmost credit for her fight against autism, I do have some concerns as to how she presented her experience with her son to the general audience. First noted, is her definition of febrile seizures and how she equated them with autism. Not all children with autism have experienced febrile seizures and it is not indicative of autism. Also, I am concerned about the way she portrayed the use of a gluten and casein free diet as one of the cure alls of autism. While it may help some of those in the autistic community it is not a cure all. In addition, it is an extremely difficult diet to put a child on and very taxing on the parent to provide it, as gluten is just about in everything we eat. I do not want to dismiss Ms. McCarthy's actions, but only to bring awareness that very much is still unknown about the cause of autism and I would not want to see any false hopes brought onto the families of those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder...

-i read the book in 1 day...it is a great reality of what it is like to have autism in your life and the honesty about how it effects the whole family and those who you thought to be friends...also the bio-med treatment and diet. I was so impressed with the hope she gives to all us ASD mom's [and dads]...and on Oprah it was great to hear them speak out about antibiotics and vaccines. Thank you for letting the world know what we all have experienced...

-Jenny is a breathe of fresh air. She's says everything I wish I wasn't too polite to say. She's right on when she says that doctors give diagnosis, but don't give you a treatment pamphlet to go with it. If someone had given one to me, so I wouldn't have spent a year of my child's life doing research on my own online, I would have known about the diet and supplements sooner, especially the B12 shots. They have helped our son tremendously. More power to her. I hope she makes this bumpy road much smoother for other parents to follow.

-Well, I rushed home and was able to watch - pretty much in its entirety Jenny McCarthy on Oprah in which she was promoting her new book that basically sums up how her son, now 5 is recovering from autism. It was pretty good - and she said some things that were really important to me - and the one thing was one size does not fit all - what worked for one would not necessarily work for another - and those of us with children on the spectrum would most certainly agree. One thing that did concern me - although I agree somewhat - is how she implied (at least this is how I took it) - was that we should all be like Norma Rae and doing ALL that is out there. MMM, gee, Jenny - I am not able to afford to go to the top neurologist to get a diagnosis - and since my money is limited - I can only do so much. Her analogy was like those that would have a child with cancer - well you would do chemo - even if it didn't work. Aaaaah, but my guess is chemo would be covered by insurance - where as most DAN! Doctors, supplements and extra therapies are not covered, let alone special diets and the like. I just want all the mommies and daddy's out there not to feel like they are not doing enough for their child(ren). As I have told some before we all can do only what we can and we should not feel bad when we don't or can't.

-Why on TV autism segments like "Oprah" and "The View" is dietary intervention never mentioned? I am on The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) for gastric illness and it is very effective and has brought positive results in ASD children in social and learning behavior as there is a brain-gut connection.

-I watched this Oprah show. This is the second time Oprah has featured autism and once again, she failed to mention Asperger's Syndrome. Asperger's is a debilitating condition that affects children and families just as much as classical autism. I wish the media and those representing the autism community would start paying attention to AS - perhaps a shift in description - autism spectrum disorders. We have been struggling for six years to get treatment for our 10-year-old boy who was finally diagnosed with AS at age 7. There are far more programs and services for classical autism than for AS because AS children ?appear? so normal and are verbal. The reality however is that they cannot navigate the social world and face inner torment because people don?t understand their unusual and sometimes aggressive behaviour. More attention should be give to Asperger?s children and their suffering so that they too can get the necessary treatment to live productive lives. Our son has been placed in a school for behaviour children ? the last place he should be ? there he is modeling inappropriate behaviours. The school system doesn?t know how to deal with these kids and doesn?t want to invest the energy to find out.

-I'm married to a Chiropractor, and the holistic literature we've received over our 39 years of marriage started warning us about the MMR vaccines over a decade ago. I count my blessings that we were informed, and that our two adult children knew the wisdom in not vaccinating their children. My heart goes out to all the parents who fight the effects of autism. PLEASE use your forum to also warn those getting flu shots, the mercury binder is there and could be a major link to Alzheimer's. From a great Grammie of 8.