Children with Starving Brains: A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder by McCandless, Jaquelyn(February 28, 2007) Hardcover Hardcover – 1602

From the books I have read about autism so far, simply the best one, the one with the most practical and important information on how to help our kiddos. Put this one in the list of books to read first and recommend to other moms. Something I learned in this journey is that we are alone with not much help from conventional medicine and we need to help and support each other and pass out any good info we have.

If I were to pass along only one book to a parent who has just had their child diagnosed with Autism, this would be it! (And I have dozens on Autism.) This book gives you many pieces to the complex puzzle of Autism all in one book. Each child is different and Dr. McCandless has done a great job of covering so many options and so much material that it's bound to help every parent who reads it. Is it accepted by traditional mainstream medicine? No, but it works and it should be. Sometime not too far in the future, it will be. Interventions from this book, including a change in diet, vitamins, chelation and others, have helped my 2 kids tremendously. It has made them healthier, happier children and our lives much much better. Don't just take my word for it. Buy it yourself and watch as your child improves with these interventions. We're very blessed to have doctors like Dr. McCandless who are willing to write a book such as this to help parents help their own children start to get better. It's the first step to finding some answers for you and your child.

Anyone who cares for an autistic child should read this book. Pediatricians, parents, anyone. (PERIOD)Along with the "Changing the Course of Autism: A Scientific Approach for Parents and Physicians" by Bryan Jepson, this is the best scientific grounding a parent can find for understanding and treating autistic children -- they are both designed to be scientifically justifiable, suitable for pediatricians and other professionals who need to understand the current diagnoses and current treatment options.There is NO "hype" here; no easy answers; just strong science and experience in treating autism spetrum disorders (ASD, e.g., Autism, Asperger, ADD/ADHD, PDD).According to the author: Some children can and will lose their diagnoses and recover. Many will improve a great deal. Most will get some help. And she is honest enough to say -- and you need to know -- a few will see little or no improvement with the current knowledge and methods.She understands that medical testing can be stressful to both the child and the budget so recommends as many tests as the PATIENT history and the budget and insurance will support, but always with an eye towards reducing the stress on the child and doing only tests that indicate a good "cost/benefit" ratio.Genetics almost certainly play a role but most researchers and treating physicians are working from a "genetic predisposition" and environmental triggers being the commonality that sets off the condition. These triggers my include infections or other environmental insults to infants and children.Gut disorders are present in most of the ASD patients (until treated) but no one (including the author) knows if these are the cause or the result -- still they almost certainly aggrevate the conditions and at best lead to discomfort for a child who may have trouble communicating the pain of stomach and intestinal distress.Mercury MAY play a role whether introduced from vaccines (controversial as a cause but clearly recommended prior to 2001 in excess of any proven "safety" level ), or in other ways such as maternal dental fillings, maternal innoculations, paint (prior to 1991 INDOOR house paint contained Mercury), fish, and other introductions into the environment.Other heavy metals likewise -- anitmony is used in flame retardent clothing and who doesn't dress a baby and decorate the nursery with that?Auto-immune and immune/allergic responses may contribute or be the triggers that allow toxins to be ingested.She describes her diagnostic and treatment strategies in serious detail.Rather than continue with some of the ideas, let me end by saying this book is extremely READABLE and FACTUAL.Buy it; read it; use it to make sure you are getting the best possible advice and treatment.

As a Mom of 3, 2 of whom have autism, I can say the biomedical approach worked wonders in our household.Are my boys "cured" from their autism? No. But things are much, much better than they were and improving every day.I've met lots of lots of parents who didn't believe in biomed at first, but became big believers after trying GFCF diet and supplementation. I know lots of folks will tell you to avoid people selling "snake oil" when it comes with treatments and therapies for autism. As a Mom of two autistic boys, I've come across quite a few of those salesmen myself. This book's author is not one of those salesmen. This book gives you concrete things to do and the scientific reasons why you should try them.It's not the easiest read. It's dense with scientific data and terminology. If this concerns you, perhaps you could try Jepson's Changing the Course of Autism or Buckley's Healing Our Autistic Children first. Both of these are much more accessible to those of us without scientific backgrounds. But by all means, come back to this after you have a better grasp of the subject. McCandless was one of the first authors to publish on this topic, and this is still one of the best books out here on the subject.Don't let anyone tell you that there is no hope, that autism is just a genetic condition.By all means, schedule the ABA therapy and speech therapists and OT. But don't skip biomedical intervention. It's something that if you do correctly will reap you, and your child, lots of rewards.

I agreed with nearly everything. The writing is easy to understand, concise, research-backed ... this book is a 'must' for everyone, even those without kids, needing to heal their adult bodies! We're all laden with metals and our bodies are not functioning as they were generations back, before the advent of chemtrails and pollution and poor soil. A must-read and a must-follow.