Posted by Rosie O’Donnell suggests 10-year-old Barron Trump is autistic – Washington Times
Rosie O’Donnell is defending herself against backlash after she suggested President-elect Donald Trump’s youngest son Barron is autistic.
“Barron Trump Autistic? if so – what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic,” the 54-year-old comedian tweeted Tuesday to her 917,000 Twitter followers.
Ms. O’Donnell linked to a video on YouTube that speculated Barron appears to show signs of having the developmental disorder.
Many commenters slammed the comedian for attempting to diagnose a 10-year-old. Ms. O’Donnell, who said she is raising two children with spectrum disorders, spent the next three days defending her tweet.
“He is young baron – and truly angelic – beautiful like ivanka – new york city has some amazing AUTISM services w/inclusion,” she wrote.
“Not my movie clip – lots of us – who raise autistic children notice things many would miss… somethings felt familiar #NOshameAUTISM,” she continued.
“People noticed – someone made a video – i saw it – it resonated – thats the whole story,” she wrote Wednesday.
On Thanksgiving, Ms. O’Donnell tweeted that parents of children with autistic spectrum disorder “often notice signs they see in their own children – in others.”
She also clarified that she didn’t have the medical expertise to diagnose someone, but she knows that the child should be evaluated by a pediatrics doctor to make sure that the children don’t suffer from their disorder.
“No degree – just a mom,” she wrote Thursday.
She continued to defend herself Friday, suggesting that Barron was fair game because Mr. Trump is president-elect.
Ms. O’Donnell infuriated the autism community earlier this year after she joked during a standup performance in New York City that she’d gladly trade her unruly teenagers for “autistic triplets.” She later apologized.
