Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD [Paperback]

William Shaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD is an authoritative, comprehensive, and easy-to-read resource guide to a wide range of therapies that have been useful in the treatment of autism including antifungal and antibacterial therapies, gluten and casein restriction, homeopathy, vitamin therapy, gamma globulin treatment, transfer factor therapies, treatment of food allergies, and alternatives to antibiotic therapy. The information in this book may be useful not only in the field of autism but also in virtually any disorder in which some of the symptoms of autism are sometimes or frequently present.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

The purpose of writing this book is to integrate information from the fields of biochemistry, immunology, genetics, nutrition, and microbiology about autism, ADD, and PDD into a form that could be assimilated by both parents, professionals such as nutritionists and dietitians, and physicians who deal with children with these disorders. Long conversations with hundreds of parents of children with autism and PDD, including many who are themselves physicians, have provided me with many clues to these disorders. The wealth of information on the abnormalities of the immune system in autism leads me to the conclusion that the genetic factors in autism appear to be primarily those affecting the immune system. In my view, the anatomical abnormalities in the brain that have been documented may be secondary to abnormal metabolic function caused by abnormal microbial metabolites and/or toxic peptides from wheat and milk, which in turn are due to an impaired immune system. M! ost of the information has been available in the form of research papers that have been available only to medical research specialists but was essentially unknown by persons outside the narrow specialty. My goal for this book is to allow your child to be healthier and function better so that both you and your child will have a better life. The stakes for the safety of our children are too high to wait forever

About the Author

William Shaw received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Medical University of South Carolina. He has board certifications in both the fields of Clinical Chemistry and in Toxicology. He worked for six years in nutritional biochemistry, endocrinology, and immunology at the Centers for Disease Control, for twelve years in a large medical testing laboratory called Smith Kline Beecham Clinical Laboratories involved with specialized medical testing for toxicology (poisons and drugs), chemistry, immunology, and endocrinology. Next, for five years, he was an associate professor at the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine and Director of Clinical Chemistry, Toxicology, and Endocrinology and the organic acid testing for metabolic diseases at Children’s Mercy Hospital, the teaching hospital for the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Medicine. Dr. Shaw has lectured throughout the world on autism and has been a keynote speaker at the Autism! ! Society of America National Meeting, the National Meeting of the American Association for Environmental Medicine, and the National Meeting of the American College for Advancement of Medicine. He is actively involved with both the Defeat Autism Now (DAN) group and the Cure Autism Now (CAN) foundation. Dr. Shaw is the author of many scientific papers and the co-author of two book chapters dealing with laboratory medicine and nutritional biochemistry. Dr. Shaw can be reached by phone at 913 341-8949 or by e-mail at [e-mail].77th St, Lenexa, KS 66214.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Great Plains Laboratory Inc; 2 Revised edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966123816
• ISBN-13: 978-0966123814
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revised, Updated, & Even More Valuable, March 21, 2002

By 

"christluvr" (Lancaster, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD (Paperback)

Below is a copy of my review of the previous edition of this sensational reference book. If I were to have just one book on Autism to recommend, this would be it!

Do you find yourself wondering if someone came in the middle of the night, stole your beautiful child or family member, and left a distant stranger seemingly lost in a nightmarish prison of sensory defensiveness and walled-in isolation in their place? Are you tired of the never-ending battle to stay ahead of screams, mind blindness, and over or under stimulation using medications designed to mask and sedate rather than treat and heal? Well if you want to really begin to understand what is going on, if you want to take charge of your loved one's life and put them on a path to better health and a more promising future, then read this book.

I'm not the publisher, I'm a parent advocate who has spent the better part of the last 9 years living and dealing with Autism and lobbying for awareness and a cure. I'm not the author, but I have met and heard him and an innumerable number of his counterparts speak, and I want to tell you this book is not just enlightening, it's liberating. If you are in anyway involved with someone on the Autistic Spectrum, this book is an absolute "must read".

Dr. Shaw takes the complicated and often convoluted theory, and discoveries of some of the most brilliant researchers, physicians, scientists, and other experts in their fields, and explains, dissects, and relates their research and findings in a way that just about anyone can understand regardless of education or background. His book will help you discover how researchers are finally beginning to unravel the mystery and biological origins of a disorder that as recently as the 1970's was considered a psychological malady often attributed to cold and unfeeling "refrigerator mothers"

Using easy to follow examples and his unique way of relating complex concepts, Dr. Shaw thoughtfully examines the ground breaking medical research, case studies, and clinical trials behind some of the newest treatments and many more looming on the horizon. As you progress through chapters on various topics such as yeast proliferation, allergies, and fungus, you will begin understand the correlation between the gut and the brain, how the various systems of the body interact, and how and why a breakdown in one system directly and indirectly affects the others. Before you know it the dynamics and theory behind such controversial interventions as Secretin and Anti-fungal therapy begin to make sense, and the veil of mystery surrounding Autism seems to lift ten fold.

Although several cases of recovery are presented in the book it should be noted that there is still a long way to go. A lot more research needs to be done, and many more questions need to be answered. After reading this book however, I think you will find many exciting treatment options and a lot of viable alternatives to more conventional medications that merely eclipse symptoms and further submerge personality. More importantly, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness will diminish as your understanding increases and the very real prospects for recovery and eventual cure of this wide-ranging disorder are presented.

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but becoming dated, August 25, 2006

By 

Scott Riley (San Clemente, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD (Paperback)

Dr. Shaw has made many contributions that have helped many children, mine included. A few years ago I referenced this book often, looking for ways to help my son. At the time, I would have recommended this book as a must have for every parent.

However, at this point it is becoming fairly dated. If you were to attend a DAN! conference today, you would see that their focus, and our understanding of the science has changed.

If you are considering purchasing this book, you are, I assume, as I was a few years ago -- in a real big hurry to find the best information you can to help someone you love. So to that end, I would recommend instead of this book:

"Children with Starving Brains" by Jaquelyn McCandless
"Autism: Effective Biomedical Treatments" by Syndey Baker and Jon Pangborn
"Special Diets for Special Kids" by Lisa Lewis
"Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read book for anyone with autistic children, June 7, 2004

By 

Alina Ranee "mizrani" (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD (Paperback)

William Shaw's book shows how antibiotics used in treating ear infections in children contribute to yeast overgrowth in the intestinal tract and how this affects the child's development.

He gives examples of the differences in chemicals secreted in the urine of autistic children compared to that of normal children, and explains what these differences mean.

The language used is readable and parents of autistic children will find much to follow up in possible treatments for the disorder.

Other contributers to this book expand on the yeast-autism connection, and there is a very interesting chapter by Bernard Rimland on use of Vitamin B6,magnesium and DMG in treating autistic children.