Kelly Preston is opening up about the tragic death of her son Jett for the first time in a bid to help other parents avoid the same fate. The actress said she believes her son's health issues were caused by environmental factors, and that eliminating them could have helped him.
"Jett was autistic," Preston says on an upcoming episode of The Doctors. "He had seizures when he was very young; he had Kawasaki syndrome. I strongly believe as a mother, as does my husband, that there are certain contributing factors that lead to autism and some of it is very much the chemicals in our environment and in our food."
John Travolta admits son's autism>>
Preston also pointed to her "hard and fast" labor and use of antibiotics while breastfeeding, which caused Jett to contract a case of thrush, as possible causes. The yeast infection has been tied to autism by some researchers, although a direct causation has not been proven.
Now parents to baby Benjamin , the couple try to eliminate any environmental factors that could cause the same issues in the tot. Preston told The Doctors she and Travolta are trying to raise their kids in a clean, healthier environment.
John Travolta & Kelly Preston make first statement about son Jett's death>>
Sixteen-year-old Jett died in 2009 after hitting his head on a bathtub while suffering a seizure. Speaking out about autism goes directly against the couple's Scientologist beliefs, which according to insiders do not recognize autism as a disorder and opposes psychiatry and medication such as Depakote used to treat seizures.
However, Scientology representative Tommy Davis told MSNBC, "The Church of Scientology has no position on autism. As with any medical condition, the Church believes that these matters are best diagnosed and treated by a medical doctor. Scientologists can and do then also seek spiritual assistance."
See the complete interview with Kelly Preston on The Doctors, Nov. 21. Check local listings for channel and times.