Rosie O’Donnell on How Lyle Menendez Helped Change Her Autistic Child’s Life (Exclusive)

It was the diagnosis that shocked Rosie O’Donnell and changed her as a parent — the youngest of her five children, Clay, the joy of her life, was autistic. 

“Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi spoke with Rosie, who discussed how her service dog Kuma has changed everything for Clay.

She said, “I did not know as the mother of an autistic child, who was diagnosed at 2 years old, I didn't know that they had service dogs.”

The special dogs are trained by inmates across the country. Rosie noted, “And I never heard of it until I befriended Lyle Menendez.”

Though he reached out to her “30 years ago,” Rosie and Lyle only “became friends three years ago.” 

Rosie shared of getting a service dog, "It was Lyle who said to me, 'I want you to do it. Don't lose this opportunity.'"

Lyle and his brother Erik Menendez are serving a life sentence without parole for the 1989 murders of their parents. They are currently fighting for a resentencing after renewed interest in their case, thanks to Ryan Murphy’s show “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and Netflix’s “The Menendez Brothers.”

Rosie has taken what was once a very personal and private journey and executive produced the new documentary “Unleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children with Autism.”

The touching documentary, which is now streaming on Hulu, spotlights how these incredible service animals can play a major transformative role in the lives of young people with autism like her 12-year-old.  

Rosie recalled, “[They] became very disconnected from everyone. [They] did not want to go out of the house, so it was just [them] and I alone and we both were suffering and I didn't know what to do.”

O’Donnell also opened up on her reaction to the autism diagnosis, saying, “When the doctor said, ‘No, they have autism,’ I felt like I was kicked in the stomach. I had to sit down. Literally, I was like ‘No, are you sure?’ and they were like ‘Yes.’ I was so unsure that I had them tested again. When your child is diagnosed with autism, you don't get a book and autism is a huge spectrum from Albert Einstein to nonverbal children, who can't speak.”