Customer Reviews

Healing and Preventing Autism: A Complete Guide

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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!!!!

As an autistic adult and someone who works with autistic child this kind of nonsense makes me sad and sick to my stomach. There are some studies that do support some improvement in some autistic individuals when a specific diet (no gluten) is followed. I've tried this myself and had no visible or measurable results. It has however worked for some of the children I've worked with. Chelation therapy is very dangerous and should only be used in cases of heavy metal poisoning under the direct care of a qualified professional. Giving children supplements that are in no way regulated, tested, or FDA approved is dangerous and can put a child at risk.

Testimony after testimony has been given that states in clear black and white that vaccines are in no way linked to autism. This brand of pseudo-science is being propagated by a woman with no medical, scientific, or psychological training. Everyone wants answers as to why autism happened in their family. Everyone wants a bright future where their child is magically cured of their autism. Autism is life changing for everyone who has been touched by it.

The truth is that there is no straight, easy answer and there is no cure. Autism is heartbreaking, painful, and incredibly wonderful all at the same time. Children with autism are not broken and they do not need to be "fixed". These children can and love to be taught. They are the joy of my life. I celebrate and love my autism and the strengths that it has brought me. These kinds of books that blend some scientific fact and a lot of conjecture cheapen the work that I do and marginalize everything I have accomplished for myself as an autistic individual.

And it's not so much her books, which have all been quite readable, if rather general and not particularly accurate, so much as the "before me there was nothing" attitude which the publishers blurb on this book exemplifies.

The blurb for this book states - "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."

OK, so what's this FIRST BOOK NONSENSE. This book was published fairly recently. So what about these books then? Is McCarthy suggesting these are not relevant, or is she just unaware... or is it her marketing department at work. Either way, it's annoying and egocentric. Other authors in this field are more than willing to share credit and acknowledgements of others work in the field. All of the below in fact.

Children with Starving Brains: A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders
Changing the Course of Autism: A Scientific Approach for Parents and Physiciansor
Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder: A Mother's Story of Research & Recovery

And there's quite a few more. I just used these as examples. Like I said, no real argument about the content, altho as with her book on pregnancy, it's not advice you'd want to follow, more of a light read, but it's the way she promotes herself that annoys me.

I am a family nurser practitioner trained in traditional medicine. A few months ago I came to the excruciating realization that my son, 3 1/2, had autism spectrum disorder. My first inclination was to learn everything I could about ASD. I recalled Jenny McCarthy working with autism awareness a few years ago, but it was Jenny McCarthey, not a pediatrician. I spent hours searching through articles in well-renowned medical journals. They were all the same - the signs, how to diagnose, early treatment (referral to speech therapy and applied behavior therapy.) Yet, only 15% of autistic people will ever live independently. Every hope and dream I ever had for my precious son was ripped from me. This is what every parent will tell you.

Then, I typed the name "Jenny McCarthy" into a Google search. God Bless You, Jenny McCarthy. I ordered her 3 books, read them all in a weekend and unlike my medical journals, I was given hope. Started GF/CF diet 2 weeks later. Within days, my son's stimming ended. Not slowed, ENDED. When he's had any gluten, stimming will start before he's even left the table. I brought him to a biomedical dr a month later (soonest we could get in), with this book in hand, well-informed. We started a probiotic and fish oil. Within days, he could answer a question for the first time in his life. (He is also getting speech therapy which is not to be discounted.)

Although the layout of the book (the interview form) is kind of cheesy, this is a must-read/must-own book for any parent of a child with ASD. Dr. Kartzinel gives wonderful explanations, in layman's terms, of how damage was done to your child's body resulting in ASD symptoms and how to treat them. It's not expensive, so PLEASE, please give it a try. Your child is worth it. Your dreams for your child are worth it. Healing and recovering are possible.

I am very appreciative of how much public awareness Jenny McCarthy has brought to autism and the spectrum disorders. I have to say though, that I don't enjoy her frenetic style in prose format, and I have concerns that she is out of touch with how much income most American families can devote to the myriad remedies and treatments that she advocates. There is an incredible risk to be taken with costly treatments which do not have any reliable studies to condone them.

The health regimen in this book will obviously be of benefit to some children with autism and other disorders, but to call it Healing and Preventing Autism seems a bit of an overstatement. The book and some of its passionate fans give anecdotal evidence of the improvements some children have made. I would feel happier if more scientific studies documenting such evidence were done before presenting this material in such an overstated way! If your kids are living on Fruit Loops and pop, and you give the changes outlined in this book a try, you will no doubt see improvement!

One thing I found particularly distasteful and unprofessional were multiple cartoons portraying medical professionals as ignorant, self-interested and condescending. I'm sure there are doctors out there like that, but to characterize the profession that way is so sad. Our families' pediatricians are available, capable, compassionate and attentive. This sort of smear of doctors does not help children get the help they need and only builds distrust where collaboration is needed. True stewards of truth don't need to smear their naysayers; they only need to present their message and let the results speak for themselves.

If you would like to try the protocol in this book, go for it and may you experience good results; but don't be tainted by its antagonistic view of the medical profession.

As a new parent who knows several people with children who are on the spectrum, I was eager to read this book to see if there was indeed some way to prevent autism. While I found the authors' personal stories regarding their own children very interesting, there was little in the way of hard-core science to back up the claims in the book with the most controversial being that vaccines may trigger autism in children with weak immune systems. (Indeed, the current studies say there is not a link between autism and vaccines.)

With that said, most of the diet and health advice probably couldn't hurt most children who are on the spectrum. Indeed, the diet advice may even help those who are not on the spectrum, but suffer from multiple allergies.

My biggest problem with this book is the anti-vaccine agenda. While McCartney states that she is not anti-vaccine and feels it is up to the parents to vaccine or not, Dr. Kartzinel is clear that he is anti-vaccine. He does not vaccine children in his practice and only recommends a single vaccine for parents who want to vaccinate their children. I truly wish there had been some space given to the pros of vaccination, but it is not to be found.

Still, there is no doubt that the authors truly are speaking from the heart and their goal is to help children and families who are dealing with autism. I just wish it wasn't so anti-vaccination.

I have two children that have been diagnosed with high functioning autism so this is a very personal matter for our family. We are very fortunate to have a friend who is a PHD/expert/national speaker on the brain. We've also been able to work with a research university regarding high functioning autism.

We would all like easy clear answers for autism. The medical field is definitely lacking clear treatment options for people with autism. What really aggravates me about this book is the strong opinions stated without credible research or evidence to back up their opinions. I would not be surprised after research comes out that some of the opinions in this book detrimental, a waste of time, and resources. We all need to push the envelope and look outside the box for answers. Jenny has approached this problem unconventionally and shared some of her insights. Please don't be fooled that this book is a complete guide. How can it be a complete guide with so much research going on?

If you want to read this book for an alternative perspective go ahead but keep a pound of salt next to you while you read.

Seriously.... I loved Jenny McCarthy's books on Pregnancy and Motherhood, but she should have STOPPED there.
Do you people realized that SHE CAN AFFORD all these treatments MOST people whose kids are on the Spectrum, can't? I know parents who have lost thier homes reading this book thinking thier child would be recovered and cured and while thier child has made progress, they are not cured or recovered, but still in the poor house stressed to the nines.

I am a firm believer in ABA and therapies services. I also think the GFCF is a great idea. I tried it on my daughter who has classic, but high functioning autism, and it didn't work for us.

Some of the supplementing and stuff is just a bit much to me. If you do through research, there is a lot of questionable stuff out there about DAN Dr.s and Biomeds.

All I am saying is do your homework... don't just run out to a DAN dr. and assume they are god and spend hundreds of dollars they charge you for these irrelivant tests, which a high percentage of the time, won't change anything about your ASD kiddo. Try ABA and any other additional therapy for a FEW months FIRST.

The only GOOD thing about this book is it did a decent job of explaining the different biomed procedures and testing, supplements, etc.

I personally don't believe in a lot of the biomed stuff and the route they take. To each his own. ABA therapy and me working with her just in the past 6 months... has made life altering changes for the good and I didn't pop shots and pills into my kid. I tried the medication/supplement free route first and it has worked.

I've had this book for a while. I actually received it from the Vine program before it was released to the public and dove into it so quickly that I could have been the first one to post a review here. Let me back up a little...I am a Body Ecology Coach and while this review is SOLELY my OWN opinion of the book, as excited as I was to receive the book, I quickly realized after I started reading it, I felt that had just stepped in a puddle of mud.

I am going to do my very best to provide an honest, unbiased opinion. With so many people being on polar opposites in regards to what causes autism to how or even IF it can be treated, I realize the uncomfortable position I have put myself in by selecting this book and being obligated to post an honest review on it. It's one thing to agree or disagree on a specific theory, study or protocol but it's an entirely different thing to state an opinion then to call out someone by name where you disagree.

For starters, I ABSOLUTELY think that Dr. Jerry Kartzinel is wonderful. From what I've read about him and reading his contributions, he is obviously very dedicated to finding solutions to recovering children affected with ASD. He is obviously open minded to where he doesn't seem to stop searching for answers and has no doubtedly been successful in treating and reducing symptoms of his current patients. I think those who seek his services are very lucky indeed to be in good hands.

My heart goes out to Jenny McCarthy on a personal level and all other parents (many who I have become friends with as well as clients of mine) who have to deal with watching their children suffer at the hands of this cruel (condition) called autism. I think it's obvious that Jenny has done a tremendous job of doing her best to put autism in the forefront to the public and with Jim Carey, they are both doing a tremendous job in doing what they can to inform the public about treatment options as they see fit.

So while I think that the efforts and intentions are certainly sincere, I think that 'they' have done the autism community - both those who are currently 'in' this community and for those who will unfortunately join in time, by claiming that this book is a "COMPLETE GUIDE" for "HEALING and PREVENTING AUTISM". While it provides you a wonderful running start, this book is not by ANY means complete in any way. So I implore those who are affected with Autism to certainly take the time to read this book but above all, continue to search, continue to read, continue to ask questions to other parents, practitioners and specialists. Ask, ask, ask and when you are finished, ask some more. If someone gives you an answer, then as exhausting as it is, cross reference their information or advice so that you are certain without a shadow of a doubt that whatever protocol, supplement or medication you are considering for your child is safe, is what YOUR specific child needs at this point in time, justified and effective. Too many DAN! practitioners - even those who charge an outrageous $400 per consultation have a standard cookie cutter approach to EACH child affected with autism. One will swear that all autism stems from a viral issue so they'll want to load the kid up with an anti-viral regardless if that is what is of most concern at this time for the parent and so on. Most of these kids all heavy metal issues, low functioning methylation pathways, fungal infections, underlying viral issues, metabolic issues, digestive issues and so on but you have to gather your list of what things you'd like to help your child overcome and target what are your biggest concerns TODAY that you can try to address and go from there. I personally do not believe that ALL austism manifested in the same exact way and don't believe that the treatment is identical for each child so you have to be the one to lead the way and find out what is best for your child.

Just a few brief notes as to what I found incomplete...just based on diets. They briefly mention The Body Ecology Diet and Young Coconut Kefir but then Jenny makes a comment that while her son WAS on it, when she got test results back, she found out her son was "allergic to coconuts!" They both fail to mention what her son's test results were on 'coconuts'. Keeping in mind that SOME test results come back with false positives and some come back with false negatives, they also fail to explain WHAT portion of the coconut that Evan was tested for? If it was a mild allergy and he was tested for the MEAT of the coconut, then it was very likely that Evan was allergic to the proteins IN the coconut meat. Granted, if an allergy is in the mid range or severe then it IS best to avoid the offending food but in many cases, if someone is allergic to a certain food, it's because their bodies can't properly process either the proteins or the sugars in the food. (Not everyone mind you, but many.) They can't process the proteins because their bodies currently lack the digestive enzymes to break down this specific type of protein and they'll have problems processing a certain type of sugar because their gut lacks the exact type or required amounts of microflora to break down the sugars. So these sugars and proteins will enter into the bloodstream as some deem, "leaky gut syndrome" and cause allergic reactions. In Evan's case, was he allergic to the meat (proteins?) or the coconut water (sugars?). They ALSO fail to explain that when you culture or ferment a specific food or drink, it then becomes predigested so it's easily assimilated in the body with no reactions. Take coconut water for instance. If you culture it with probiotic starters (we use the Body Ecology Starters from [...]) then the microflora actually consume the sugars in the water and turn it into b-complex vitamins as properly functioning microflora would in the gut. So then you have this no sugar / low sugar (depending on how long it was fermented) wonderful drink that is full of potassium, b -vitamins,some magnesium, some calcium, vitamin C packed with natural enzymes and probiotics to help nourish the body. Some have also claimed that it makes them crave less sugar and carbs and helps to chelate heavy metals out of the body as well. If this were just some other food, I can see where it wouldn't warrant explaining this in details but SO MANY children and adults have found young coconut kefir (the fermented WATER and not the meat) INCREDIBLY beneficial and a wonderful, nourishing food. By speaking half truths about it and providing incomplete information, I think they both would have been better off to not mention it at all rather than to fail to provide complete information about the overall diet and YCK (young coconut kefir). I kept wondering WHY they bothered to mention it in a sentence or so and not properly explain that it was a very effective anti-candida diet and why they never bothered to SPEAK with someone knowledgable about Body Ecology yet include tidbits about the diet?

Another area where the book is incomplete in regards to treatment for autism is ADULT stem cell therapy. I MAY have received an editor's edition where the book was incomplete however I didn't see a single mention of stem cell therapy as an alternative choice. I realize that there are some clinics using embryonic stem cells and I have to state that while it may be effective, personally I DO NOT agree with this since there are other ways. There are concerns that some practitioners have in regards to embryonic stem cells not to mention the source of the stem cells in question. I had to ask myself that if their book was such a COMPLETE GUIDE to healing and preventing autism, why no mention of treating autism with cord blood stem cells (stem cells from the umbilical cords AFTER delivery from a healthy baby or healthy mom) or from their own fat cells or cells from their own parents?


I'm sure that even if Jenny McCarthy and Dr. Kartzinel weren't well versed in stem cell therapy at the time that this was published, other parents and practitioners ARE and would have gladly shared the knowledge and experience. To make claims that this is a COMPLETE guide but to then make a joint decision to omit information on one of the most cutting edge therapies currently available, they are doing a disservice to those who WANT to learn. I was taken aback that stem cell therapy was not even mentioned in this book because there are some children who have noticed a significant decrease in seizure activity...I don't personally know Ms. McCarthy but she's been very public and open about her son still suffering from seizures so being as connected as she is in the autism community, I feel certain that she's at least heard of it and that it's been mentioned to her from someone out there who is in communications with her. I don't think that it wasn't included because the treatment is controversial - Jenny's middle name is controversial and publically at least, she seems to have never backed down from a fight just because some people may disagree.

For those interested, please check out my friend, Daniel Faiella's son, Matthew and track his amazing progress. While I personally and professionally HIGHLY suggest implementing a diet like the Body Ecology diet first, Daniel gives credit to Matthew's progress to aggressive and consistent mHBOT/HBOT therapy, Cord Blood Stem Cells treatment and oral Collodial Silver therapy for Matthew's road to recovery. Keeping in mind that like every other treatment, what may work for one child may not work exactly the same manner for another but this type of treatment certainly deserves recognition. You can check out Matthew's progress on his Mom & Dad's blog: [recoveringmatthew.blogspot] (Amazon actually removed the link that I provided for Daniel's blog. Just in case it's removed again, you can either google Daniel Faiella's name or Recovering Matthew or post a comment to me on behalf of this review and I'll be glad to forward you his the link to his blog.) Check out his AMAZING recovery progress!

Keep in mind that they do NOT use embryonic stem cells, in fact his Dad has told me that they emphatically do not support embyronic stem cells and will only utilize adult stem cells for their son's recovery. Maybe at some point, they would be able to utilize Matthew's own stem cells or his Mom's or Dad's but at the time of this review, he has only received cord blood from umbilical cords AFTER a full term baby was born and used only after Mom & Baby have been tested that they are free of diseases then the stem cells are harvested and 'cleaned'. There are many other families seeking this route of therapy however due to public outlash from those who are negative and uneducated as far as where these stem cells come from (again, NOT from aborted fetuses but from stem cells from umbilical cord of a full term baby) they respectably choose to remain anonymous. Danielle and Ruth have bravely stepped out into the light - despite the chance of backlash from some and have been completely open to sharing their progress and path with Matthew. May God and the Universe keep this family and continue to bless them and Matthew's progress.

On a small note, something so basic as to explain WHAT TYPE of B12 is effective for children with autism is not mentioned either. There are FIVE different types of B12s and not all of them will produce the same results IF your child is a responder. (According to Dr. James Neurbrander, most children DO respond to mB12 at some level, some more significant than others.) Some practitioners even believe that cynacobalamin can even cause harm to those who consume it long term if they have mercury toxicity (which most ASD affected kids have). So for a vitamin supplement that is SO mainstream in the DAN protocol and has proven to be so effective for many, they really should have specified WHICH type and how much to give / ask for should their doctor not know. My concern is if there is a parent out there with a limited budget, without access to a knowledgable practitioner in treating ASD, that they could hop on the internet and order cynacobalamin injections from weight loss docs on the internet and give it to their children...they could POSSIBLY cause unintentioned harm and or obviously waste well earned money on something that wasn't intended for autism in the first place.

While I applaude the efforts of Ms. McCarthy and Dr. Kartzinel, I felt that their book while a good START is incomplete. I think if they had perhaps included maybe just 20% more precise content, it would have been an EXCELLENT book. Perhaps if the editors would have removed the personal conversations between the two and replaced it with valuable information, that alone would have proven to be so much more of a valuable resource to both families and practitioners. With all of the negative criticism that I mentioned, I DO want to stress that the there is a lot of information in this book for parents who have received a new diagnosis of autism OR for those many parents who have a child who you THINK maybe be a bit different or delayed in some areas of development but has never been diagnosed...maybe it's something you just can't put your finger on just yet...while your pediatrician tells you to 'wait and see', you can get a leg up on everything, feed your child a healthy diet, get their methylation cycles supported and moving, keep their stools consistent, address their yeast issues, ask for specific tests mentioned in the book and hopefully reverse what has taken place so that when your pediatrician feels that it's time to discuss your concerns at your child's next well visit, hopefully you'll have seen some gains in your child...maybe some literal weight gain, less allergic responses, more active, responsive and more focus...perhaps more coordinated and reaching their milestones at the appropriate age range - just so your pediatrician will smile at you and say, "SEE? I told you nothing was wrong!"