Ask teach2talk™ co-founder Jenny McCarthy any questions you may have about her journey with her son, Evan, and how the video modeling and other instructional techniques used in teach2talk’s™ products have helped Evan and may be able to help your child.
A Resource for Parents with Questions About teach2talk™
Many of you have called or emailed to let us know you’ve read Jenny’s new book, Louder Than Words, and have been touched or inspired by, or can personally relate to, her story of her journey in healing her son Evan’s autism.
Many others have called or emailed to let us know that you appreciate Jenny stepping forward to bring more attention to children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders as well as other deficits. Jenny does her best to read every email she receives, but she’s only one (very busy) person!
So, Jenny and Sarah got together and decided to create a place on the teach2talk™ website for parents, family members and others who have a child with autism in their life to ask Jenny questions about her own experiences with Evan, including how the video modeling and other instructional techniques used in teach2talk’s™ products have helped Evan.
Jenny will read all of the questions submitted to her, and once a week she will select one of the best questions to answer right here on our website. That way, all of our visitors will be able to read and have the benefit of her answers.
How to Ask Jenny a Question
To ask Jenny a question, send her your question clicking here or email Jenny at askjenny@teach2talk.com with the following information:
- First Name
- Email Address
- City and State
- Your Role (e.g., Parent, Relative)
- Your Question!
If you do not include all of the required information, we’re very sorry but we will not be able to use your question and Jenny will not read it.
Important Information About Ask Jenny!
Please note that by sending an email to Jenny at askjenny@teach2talk.com, you are:
- certifying that you are over 18 years of age
- agreeing to be bound by teach2talk’s™ Terms and Conditions of Service, Privacy Policy and policies regarding Intellectual Property
- giving Jenny and Teach2Talk, LLC and its other affiliates and representatives permission (which you cannot revoke) to read and to use all or any portion of your email in any way they may see fit, including posting all or any portion (or any edited or paraphrased version thereof) on the teach2talk™ website or otherwise using it in connection with promotional and advertising activities
- expressly waiving any rights of privacy you may have with respect to such email
- acknowledging that Jenny may not be able to read or respond to your message
Other Resources for Parents
You may also want to see the questions from parents which Jenny answered on Oprah’s website.
Q: How well did your children adjust to the gluten-free, casein–free diet?
Wendy N., Portland, Oregon, USA
A: Evan was a pretty picky eater at first. But, because he could only eat the foods that I put in front of him, I knew sooner or later he would eat. It was really a struggle at first but let’s face it, sooner or later they get REALLY hungry and they’re gonna eat what you give them. You just need to be strong, even if it’s hard at first. Eventually Evan adjusted, and now prefers only GFCF foods!
Gals, I hope you don’t mind, I’m going to have questions and answers more focused on the videos posted here. If your more interested in other questions, you can check out my Q&A I did in collaboration with Oprah, click here for that! Thanks!!
xo Jenny McCarthy
Q: Does your “Sharing” video model real children interacting?
Fran J., Mobile, Alabama, USA
A: Yes, Sharing, which is Volume 1 of our Social Skills! series, models a variety of scenarios of children initiating to “share” and “take turns.” The children also learn some emotions, because they can see how their friend would feel if they don’t get to play with one of their toys. When Evan was watching, he verbalized to me, “Mom, he is sad because he doesn’t have a toy to play with.” He could see by his face that the boy was sad. I almost cried!
xo Jenny McCarthy
Q: My child repeats everything that I say. For example, if I ask him, “Where are you going,” he says “going”? What video should I start with?
Julie B., Rochester, New York, USA
A: I would recommend starting with our WH Questions! series of videos, which focuses on wh form questions – Volume 1 in that series is “Where?” This video models a variety of “where” questions and then models an appropriate response. Sometimes when I was with Evan, I would pause the video after the question and make Evan respond. He was so motivated by the visual reinforcement that he would answer the question. I would next hit play and Evan would hear the response. This really reinforced his ability to learn how to answer questions – my speech therapist (and partner in teach2talk) Sarah taught me how to do this!
xo Jenny McCarthy
Q: My question is did your son play with their toys in the intended fashion (moving cars and making vroom noise!)?
Marisa L., Chula Vista, California, USA
A: When someone first asked me, “Can Evan play?” I was like, “yeah, of course Evan can play!” But I didn’t realize that Evan was not actually “playing” with his toys. Evan lined up his toys a lot. He liked spinning objects and flapped his hands a lot. He would make a car go down a track, over and over and over and over again.
Once I was taught the “steps” of how children learn play, and what Evan was actually doing, I realized, “you know what, no … Evan can’t really play!”
That is one reason I wanted to start teach2talk and get our teach2play video series out there to parents. I can’t stress how important play is!!! Moms often think that children are playing if they are making their car go down the ramp over and over and over and over or holding onto a puzzle piece (instead of putting the puzzle piece in). They may just hold on to it, or play with door hinges, or line up toys. THIS IS NOT PLAYING. Children with autism often have trouble with imaginary and abstract play. Our teach2play series of DVDs can help.
xo Jenny McCarthy
Q: My question is what did you do to get your son to be more social or interactive with other children? Thanks and keep up the good work. I wish we could talk in depth! I feel so inspired by you.
Elisa, New Canaan, Connecticut USA
A: What I did was work with improving his “play” skills! I can’t stress how important play is!!!!! The teach2talk videos break the videos down to the earliest levels to the latest developing levels. If your child doesn’t know how to PLAY, he will have difficulty interacting with other children. At first Evan only liked interacting with adults. As Evan’s play skills improved, I had him first practice with adults and then I started inviting other kids over for play dates. Now Evan prefers to play with other kids! With the play videos, language was also modeled which helped him while he as playing. Without these play skills, Evan would have difficulty interacting with other children.
xo Jenny McCarthy
Q: I saw your DVDs at the TACA picnic and was interested in the social skills one. However, I am concerned about the DVD holding my sons attention. He is quite into some other videos! I guess I am just not sure if it is something he will sit for.
Chrstina M., California, USA
A: Yes I think it is something most children will sit and watch. We made them fun, so they will keep children’s attention. We have bumpers in the videos that help keep the children’s attention (for examples numbers that flash or vehicles, fire works, etc….). We also have music that holds the children’s attention. Let me know how he likes them! Evan loves them and requests to watch them!!!!
xo Jenny McCarthy
