Rating: 
Summary: Hope for parents
Review: A little over a year ago my son was diagnosed with autism at 2 1/2 years old. He would not make eye contact, had basically no language, slept about four hours a night and would not really interact with others. I came across the name of this book in an article on MSNBC. I am a physician and was initially doubtful, but we didn't have much to lose. We started the GF/CF diet, and after 2 difficult weeks my son began his return to us. We have used several other biological interventions and extensive behavioral therapy. My son now plays with friends and family, SLEEPS, stims very little, and enjoys preschool. His remaining isssue is expressive language and that is improving daily. If you are a parent, relative, friend, caretaker or therapist working with a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, you owe it to your child to at least find out more about biological interventions, and this book is a great place to start. Thank you Karyn Seroussi.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book. Buy it. Buy a few.
Review: After buying and reading Karyn's remarkable book a few months ago, I have had great difficulty keeping track of who I have promised to lend it to next. No teacher, therapist, parent, or professional has it long, because they read through so quickly. Frankly, I really miss having my copy at home. I guess I'll just have to buy another one, donate it to our library and refer all borrows there. I am grateful that there so many people impressed, having witnessed my son's improvements through dietary intervention over the last year, that they are lined up to learn more. It is revealing that providers of other interventions are beginning to advocate for dietary intervention. Where I live, it is becoming fast appreciated that dietary intervention needs to be tested by parents as a complimentary intervention to other autism therapies. I am grateful to Karyn & Miles for sharing their story. Theirs is a phenomenal contribution to spreading the message of the diet and a striking insight to the experience of so many families now facing a diagnosis of autism.
Rating: 
Summary: No magic bullet
Review: At a time when not many books on the subject were out there (now there seems to be too many to choose from :)), this one by far could have saved me months in research. She tells the story from a very personal perspective being brutally honest, yet packed with facts, data, etc. Oh yeah and she makes the mysterious scientific stuff understandable. It's been four (seems like 20) years since my family entered this strange new place where it seems all of the rules are backward, conventional medicine has given up long ago and you struggle with what is right or what could help and no one can really tell you for sure... I laughed, I cried, but best of all for the first time in a long while I had hope. I loved this book and I hope one day to be able to leave it on the shelf of 'remember when...'
Rating:
Summary: This book is a great idea for all parents!!!
Review: I love this book! I went to the store to buy a different book about sensory integration dysfunction and I found this one and read it cover to cover in 24 hours. (I haven't opened the other one!!) The thing I love about this book is the variety and depth of information. My son is mildly autistic but he's already 6 years old. Thankfully, early intervention at age 2 helped is future. However, this book helped me explore more options to help him and me, especially with the diet. It was like the light went on when I read her story, finally figuring out why all these things were plaging him in the past and maybe for the future as well. I would recommend this book to every parent who has a child. My childs needs are no longer severe, but this book just opened my eyes to all of the options and possibilites there are for children. I teared up soooo many times reading about all of the strives that Miles made. I wish I would have read this book when my son was born in 1996. If all of the parents in this world were as ambitious to help their children as Karyn and her husband, the world would be a much better place. You have to be an advocate for your child, and this book is a prime example of this and so many other things!!
Rating:
Summary: This book is a great idea for all parents!!!
Review: I love this book! I went to the store to buy a different book about sensory integration dysfunction and I found this one and read it cover to cover in 24 hours. (I haven't opened the other one!!) The thing I love about this book is the variety and depth of information. My son is mildly autistic but he's already 6 years old. Thankfully, early intervention at age 2 helped is future. However, this book helped me explore more options to help him and me, especially with the diet. It was like the light went on when I read her story, finally figuring out why all these things were plaging him in the past and maybe for the future as well. I would recommend this book to every parent who has a child. My childs needs are no longer severe, but this book just opened my eyes to all of the options and possibilites there are for children. I teared up soooo many times reading about all of the strives that Miles made. I wish I would have read this book when my son was born in 1996. If all of the parents in this world were as ambitious to help their children as Karyn and her husband, the world would be a much better place. You have to be an advocate for your child, and this book is a prime example of this and so many other things!!
Rating:
Summary: Karyn Seroussi hits the nail on the head! A MUST READ
Review: If you have a child with autism you owe it to them on checking out this "GFCF Diet" thing. I have a son with autism and it is hands down the best thing I have done for him (besides hours of ABA,VBA, Speech & OT and some biomed intervention) - the diet wins.
Not only is the the healthiest thing you can do, it is the cheapest thing you can do and something you have complete control over. The diet is truly about proper nutrition for children that have wounded guts (whether you think your child has a wounded gut or not - it is something to truly try.)
Doctors and others who say - a diet cannot help children with autism are 100% wrong. I have seen it with my own 2 eyes on my child and many others.
After starting the GFCF Diet my son -
- stopped self stim behavior
- slept thru the night for the first time in 2 years
- within 6 months had great stools for the first time in 2 years
- began to be much more connected
- all the other therapies were possible
- there is a lot more I could write here - but you are going to have to believe what I am typing... it truly makes a difference. There is also alot of sound advice on other therapies and her journey. It has a happy ending to the story as well and that was worth it enough. My son is now totally connected with us, doing amazing things and is in kindergarten. What do you have to lose? It is just a book... it is just a diet. See what it can do for your child. Karyn Seroussi is a gem and this book is something you need to read.
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Summary: ABA is what recovered this child, not a diet alone.
Review: Karyn Seroussi does a great disservice to parents by overemphasizing a diet as means of recovering a child from autism. The ABA portion of the story was uncomfortably small and her almost disbelief of Catherine Maurice's children being recovered with ONLY the ABA therapy left a bad taste with me. Here's MY opinion on the whole diet thing: first of all, when children self limit their foods (as children with autism tend to do with their insistance on sameness, not for any drug-like craving) to things like chicken nuggets and candy, how the heck are they going to feel and function and how is that going to make their stools appear? Hmm... feed them healthy foods, give them good supplements - here comes the eye contact, the better sleep at night, the better stools, the better OVERALL DISPOSITION AND FUNCTIONING. Good eating habits are just good sense. It is this person's opinion that you can try it if you want. I would say to just use common sense in feeding your child well and, of course they'll do better. My child is recovering because of ABA, and tons of hours put into that. Mrs. Seroussi leaves that part of the story out - I'd like to know how intensive Miles' ABA therapy program was. No offense to the author, she is a mother that was in a situation like I am now and did everything in her power to help her son, as I am. I just think that the gf/cf diet begins to take on a cultish sort of air about it, in that if you're on the diet, well, wow - you're really doing some sacrificing for your child... and if you're not, you get the snubs of the followers that you're just not getting it... My advice? Just feed your child well, give them lots of love, and LOTS OF HOURS OF ABA. This will ensure them the best chance of recovery.
Rating:
Summary: Explaining the Mysteries of Autism
Review: Karyn's book was one of the first I read after the confirmation of autism for my son. We had participated in the tests and investigations trying to isolate and identify the developmental delays in his growth. With this book I felt the kindred frustration trying to understand my child's problem, and anxiety over his future. More important than sympathetic experiences, she writes as a guide and a tutor for a parent's quest to help attack the problems and causes of autism. This is a wonderful book, well-written, and an excellant introduction into many of the complicated and controversial issues associated with autism and the research identifying the possible causes of this spectrum of disorders. I strongly recommend Karyn Seroussi's book for all parents facing the trials of raising a child diagnosed with autism.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read if someone close to you has autism
Review: My six year old daughter was recently diagnosed with "high-functioning autism." My wife had the good fortune to run into Karyn Seroussi's Feb 2000 article in Parenting magazine. We implemented some of the changes she recommends and have seen real improvements in our daughter's mood and behavior. I stayed up nights reading the book, and let me tell you, it was well worth the effort. Karyn gives all kinds of information, encouragement, and pointers for anyone trying to help an autistic child. Phone numbers, addresses, and website urls are all provided so you can do your own research. If you are the parent of an autistic child, do them and yourself a favor, buy this book and read it carefully! There is nothing to lose and potentially a great deal to gain.
Rating:
Summary: We've seen it with our own eyes
Review: This book reads like a novel, with so much good information. I was blown away, and the price was so reasonable. This book is a must have, if you need information on Autism. Excellent!!!
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