So, this morning I saw a link on Twitter to an article about Halle Berry.  It caught my eye because it read “Halle Berry’s Daughter Nahla Autistic?”.  I clicked on it because I was thinking “Hmm, I hadn’t heard anything about that possibility.”  After reading the article I realized that that is exactly what it is…a possibility.  You see, neither Halle Berry nor her daughter’s father have released any information confirming or denying that their daughter has autism.  The information came from an anonymous letter written by a reader of a gossip website.

Two things bother me about this situation:

1)  The way this information came to light!

The woman who wrote the anonymous letter to the gossip website admits to signing a confidentiality agreement in regard to high profile clients.  I’m not sure why this woman chose to compromise her integrity.  No matter the reason, it was inappropriate.  I can only hope that she will be held responsible for clearly breaking a contract that she entered in to.

I know that some of you might say that Halle Berry is a celebrity and because she has chosen to be in the spotlight, we are entitled to all information regarding her life, whether it be personal or professional.  I disagree with that!  I have always firmly believed that children of celebrities should be considered “off limits”.  Speaking as a parent of a child with autism, working through all the emotions that come with that diagnosis is obviously difficult.  I can’t imagine doing that in the spotlight.  I think people need to step back and give them the space to work through those issues.  If in fact Nahla is autistic, then let them reveal that information if & when they are ready.

2)  The expectation put on Halle Berry to be the new spokeswoman for autism!

As I was reading this article, I was taken aback when I read the following statement.

It would be nice if Halle Berry confirmed or denied the rumors that her daughter has autism. If Nahla does in fact have the disorder, then both mother and daughter could do more to raise awareness across the country.

Ummm…..what?  Why is this Halle Berry’s job?  And more so, why in the world is this the job of a little girl who possibly has developmental delays?  Who are we to say whether a person should reveal private information so that they can raise awareness?  Yes, we have had many celebrity faces that have been attached to autism (Dan Marino, Doug Flutie, Holly Robinson Peete, Toni Braxton, Jenny McCarthy, etc.).  However, those individuals chose to speak out and raise awareness. If in fact Nahla does have autism & Halle Berry chooses to step out and help raise awareness then that would be great.  However, if she chooses not to be in the autism “spotlight” then I totally respect that too!  That should be her choice.

No matter what choice she makes, my thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family during what I know is a stressful time.

Make it a great one!

JuJu