Travolta Wary of Making Son’s Autisim Public

John Travolta is interested in having a third child, but the actor is recoiling from making his 15-year-old son’s autistic condition public.

Travolta has not come out in the open to declare that his son, Jett, is autistic.

However, a magazine editor, who interviewed the actor, is of the view that if Travolta doesn’t shy away from accepting the fact and comes forward, awareness about autism would get a major boost.

The editor also said that the actor should join other celebrities like Sylvester Stallone, Doug Flutie, Jenny McCarthy and Toni Braxton, who all have autistic kids, in raising awareness and research funds to cure the disease.

"Travolta sits there in interviews talking about how Jett loves to read or play sports, but it is clear that the boy can barely do either," the New York Post quoted the editor, as saying.

\"It's fine with me if Travolta doesn't want to become the poster child for autistic parents, but every time the parent of an autistic child hears about someone else who is in this fight, it makes them feel better. He could do so much good for autism awareness if he would just come forward,” the editor added.

Travolta has either pretended that there’s nothing wrong with Jett, or claimed that he has Kawasaki syndrome, a disease characterized by high fever, skin rash and swelling of the lymph nodes.

Tim Kenny, one of Travolta’s neighbours, and the father of an autistic girl, revealed that Scientology is the reason behind Travolta’s denial.

"Scientology is keeping him from acknowledging his son's autism. They see it as a weakness," Kenny told Mark Ebner of HollywoodInterrupted.com.

According to the Church of Scientology, people with mental illnesses are "degraded" and are capable of curing themselves by working harder on the church's teachings.

However Travolta’s lawyer Marty Singer asserted that such claims are false and offensive.

"The Travoltas are wonderful, loving parents, and their priority is their children. They have [taken] and they continue to take the best possible care of their children. To suggest anything to the contrary is very hurtful to a loving family and also would be false and defamatory,” Singer said.