Healing and Preventing Autism: A Complete Guide (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Dr. Jerry Kartzinel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Jenny McCarthy-whose bestselling books Louder Than Words and Mother Warriors told the stories of healing children with autism-teams up with a preeminent autism doctor to write the first book on a remarkably effective treatment.

In 2006, autism became the leading disorder affecting children in the United States. While diagnoses skyrocket and parents struggle to find help, a group of innovative doctors has been pioneering therapies and treatments that are remarkably effective in healing conditions associated with autism. As word spreads about these incredible discoveries- helped in part by Jenny McCarthy's book Louder Than Words- parents are desperate to learn about the biomedical therapies for themselves.

Since early intervention is key to a successful recovery, McCarthy has teamed up with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, the doctor who successfully treated her son, to write the first book to give parents all the necessary information about biomedical treatment. Beginning with diagnosis, Dr. Kartzinel explains the different therapies that he uses. He shows parents how to make simple changes to their child's environment and diet that can result in marked improvements and are safe and easy to try at home. And finally he explains some of the more advanced therapies that many doctors use today, and the way parents, alongside a qualified medical professional, can determine whether or not such treatments would benefit their child.

For new parents, Dr. Kartzinel provides helpful guidelines on how to best protect their child from developing autism.

About the Author

Jenny McCarthy is the New York Times bestselling author of Baby Laughs, Life Laughs, and Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism.

DR. JERRY KARTZINEL is one of the top doctors in the country treating children's medical conditions associated with autism. In addition to his private practice in Florida, he speaks at autism conferences around the country and frequently appears on television and in print.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525951032
• ISBN-13: 978-0525951032
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,776 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #17 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Personal Health > Children's Health > Autism & Asperger's Syndrome
  #26 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Special Needs
  #26 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Personal Health > Children's Health > Special Needs Children

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK FOR TREATMENT!!, April 8, 2009

By	Choosy ""A mother is not a person to lean... - See all my reviews

For those that wonder if this stuff is TRUE or junk science. ok, here is some FACT for you. My child was completely nonverbal from 13 months to 7 years old. At 18 months she got OT and speech therapy an hour a day 3 days a week until she was 5. Still NO words. ST and OT didn't help at all. I worked with her everyday after the therapist left for hours doing EVERYTHING I was showed and more. She stopped getting OT and speech at 5 because of funding. Still having low functioning autism at seven years old and not being able to afford other therapies I decided to try the GF/CF diet w/ a full spectrum enzyme, magnesium w/ Vitamin D, codliver oil, Calcium, GABA and B6 etc and in 4 YES I SAID 4 and ONLY 4 months she went from NO WORDS to 50 well understood words with NO speech, OT or ABA at all. We continued this adding more supplements/ vitamins and now at nine she is speaking in long sentences, answers and asks who, what, when and where questions and has a HUGE vocabulary of wow 2,000 or more words. Reads well and oh did I forget to say she could not be potty trained and was still using pull ups at 7 years and when her speech came in and "tummy" felt better so did her understanding of the potty and was potty trained within 5 months and 6 months she didn't even need a pullup on at night!!! It was getting to the point I seen myself changing her diaper for life. That's how hopeless it felt, but THANK GOD I tried bio. It was the best thing we ever done for her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT I will say this. If you do not take out ALL the GF/CF from EVERYTHING. It WILL NOT WORK. You can't go to restaurants, ordering off the menu because of contamination from the Gluten coming out of even a cleaned pan when heated. If you want it to work you MUST go all the way. Make it, take it meals. It's hard for us that isn't really "cooks" so to speak, but if I can learn it anyone can and the reward at the end is priceless!! So for the people that say it's junk science I laugh at you, for I lived it. NO ONE ELSE WAS FIXING HER. Everyday I seen my child get better and now life is better!!!!

40 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book I wish I had 8 years ago!, April 1, 2009

By	L. Barli "Cam's Voice" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the book I wish I had when my son was a baby. I have this painfully vivid memory of going to our local bookstore when my son was a year old. He sat in his stroller (fixated on the fluorescent lights on the ceiling and chewing vigorously on his pacifier) while I went through every book on the shelves looking for answers to what was happening to my baby. I knew he was slipping away even though I had been told repeatedly by his doctor that he was just fine. Back then there were no books on the shelves about autism (the explosion in material has only happened in the last 2-3 years). Had this book been on the shelf I would have been able to identify what was happening to my child (the onset of regressive autism), why it was happening and what to do to reverse it and prevent it from happening from any more of my children. We could have halted his illness extremely early and had less of an uphill battle to climb toward recovery.

New Parents and Autism Mommies/Daddies, you can hit the ground running with this book. It answers the questions that the general public as well as newly diagnosed families often ask. It also covers a wide range of biomedical treatments giving you information about them, why they may or may not be appropriate for your child and how to determine if things are helping or not. It is an awesome springboard for beginning treatment and coming up with your own game plan.

Veteran ASD Mommies/Daddies, as Jenny's books always are, this book is hysterical. It is set up as an interview with a back and forth honest/raw conversation between Jenny and Dr Kartzinel. It also includes a lot of cartoons in each chapter which are very funny. As Jenny's other books have been, it leaves a feeling of validation to have what we are experiencing put into black and white print as testimony for the rest of the world to see.

A big THANK YOU again to Jenny McCarthy for lending her voice to our families and for her tireless work in helping those children affected by ASD and helping to prevent future children and families from becoming needlessly affected by Autism.

Lisa
Cam's Voice

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting set of suggestions, but should not be treated as a substitute for independent research, May 21, 2009

By	Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

The ideas and information in this book are presented as an ongoing conversation between a concerned and passionate mother (Jenny McCarthy) and her doctor (Jerry Kartzinel, M.D.). In a nutshell, the book makes two major claims (qualified but definitely asserted): (1) a "prevention" claim: that while autism may have genetic precursors it is often triggered in response to environmental conditions that can be avoided -- most notably the mercury in many of the vaccination shots that infants are given; (2) a "healing" claim: that many of the symptoms of autism can be alleviated and even possibly eliminated, mostly through dietary restrictions.

Both of these claims are controversial, and the authors acknowledge the controversy but basically encourage the reader to conclude that even if it may not be true it is worth taking the risk. I can understand the appeal of this approach and think there is something to it. On the other hand, I would seriously worry about a parent believing that this is really (as advertised) a "complete guide" and that there is no need to probe the claims made here further. This book might serve as a useful starting point but it in no way (and even the authors acknowledge this) is a substitute for consultation with a qualified physician, careful independent research, individualized controlled experimentation. Autistic spectrum disorders have been given a lot of attention over the last couple of decades but they are still poorly understood, and there are lots of questions that need to be asked. Jenny McCarthy's questions and her doctor's answers reflect both their personal experience (both have children diagnosed with ASDs) and their study of the research that addresses concerns they've discovered as advocates for ASD parents and children; but her questions and her doctor's answers only touch upon the issues that a scientifically valid approach to ASDs will need to address.