Changing the Course of Autism: A Scientific Approach for Parents and Physicians

If you are pregnant or have a child less than 1 year of age -- READ THIS BOOK!The information in this book WILL change what you do about early childhood vaccination.The information in this book MAY help you prevent your child from developing regressive autism.As a residency trained, board certified emergency medicine physician, I am (both by nature and training) a skeptic. Throughout my medical career, I have been pro-vaccination. I have personally administered more than 1000 vaccinations, and have supervised the administration of more than 10,000 doses of vaccine -- including cholera, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis and plague vaccines. My 14 year old received every recommended childhood vaccine on schedule. Since then, two of the "safe" vaccines (oral polio and whole cell pertussis) that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended at the time have fallen from favor because of proven catastrophic (albeit rare) complications.In the last 14 years, the CDC has made a number of changes and additions to the recommended childhood vaccine schedule. I purchased "Changing the Course of Autism" with the intent of systematically debunking it to put my wife at ease before we began vaccinating our infant daughter. To my surprise, I found the text to be a scholarly, thorough, even-handed analysis of the current controversy about vaccinations and autism. The more I researched known pro-vaccine sources (e.g. CDC, National Institutes of Health, etc.) to debunk the book, the more I realized that the authors had collected a wealth of credible scientific evidence that supports the theory that the recent significant increase in the number of childhood vaccinations may be directly related to the recent dramatic increase in cases of autism in the U.S., the U.K., Japan and other developed countries. The most damning case is made against MMR - the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine currently recommended by the CDC for administration at 1 year of age.The information in this book is VITAL to making an informed decision about childhood vaccination.This is the most important book I have purchased in the last 10 years. It has fundamentally changed my perspective on childhood vaccinations and helped me determine which vaccinations my child WILL NOT RECEIVE. To date, I have purchased 70 copies of this book to give to pediatricians and other fellow physicians, nurses, new parents and parents of autistic children.Richard S. Swinney MDFellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine

If you care for an autistic* child (or someone older) then this book is a must read -- several times, until you thoroughly understand the science involved in this condition and until someone writes an update in a few years, as the science grows.*Autistic Spectrum Disorders, PDD, (including 'regressive' autism in children who initially developed normally.)[If there is a better book -- or one even nearly as good -- PLEASE leave a review pointing the way to that book since I want to read it too. This and the Jaquelyn McCandless' book, "Children with Starving Brains: A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorders are the best and you should read both.]Dr. Jepson is quite simple a scientist AND a physician who is trying to learn everything *he* can about autism, and to teach what every parent and treating physician needs to understand as a basis for beginning to help those with autism.In this book he has provided a primer on the science needed to understand autism from a medical view point and on the current medical treatments and how they might work or be improved.This is a book any literate (or really determined) parent can read, while at the same time presenting the scientific documentation so enable a physician to use it as a primer on the current debates and state of knowledge.When deciding "can I read this book", consider it to be roughly at the same level as high school or college freshman biology in raw difficulty but remember that likely you are motivated to understand this disease far more than you ever were in high school.Those who gave it low ratings as 'unscientific' quite simple never read this book, since practically every page is a discussion of biochemistry, immunology, and/or the scientific literature, both in support and in opposition to every major theory of autism and its treatment.Jepson warns parents and physicians to seek the science. He is NOT a "mercury causes it" fanatic, but instead (for example) presents the science for and against mercury being a contributing factor.He leads with the primary known risk factor and reminds of this throughout the book: autism has a strong genetic component.He also points out that autism is on the rise (now estimated by the CDC at between 1 in 150 or 1 in 165) -- diagnostic changes and anomalies do NOT account for the increase of the last 20 years -- and that purely genetic diseases do not exhibit "epidemic" characteristics.Jepson's only consistent "points of view" or biases are these: 1) Autism has a STRONG genetic component (e.g., monozyotic twins incur it far more frequently but not universally than either fraternal twins or other siblings) 2) Autism is more than just genetic and is a complex condition likely to have several 'causes' which affect those with the genetic predisposition. 3) Other (than neurological) conditions are commonly seen in conjunction with autism, and might either be more closely related to the root causes or environmental factors which cause autism to express so tragically. (Intestinal disorders being the most common.) 4) Finding a way to TREAT the babies that is safe and scientifically supportable, driven by neither fads nor hindered by refusal to really LOOK at and UNDERSTAND what the current scientific studies indicate and do NOT indicate.There is much more research to be done on autism -- read this book if you care for someone who has autism, or who may have it.Give this book to your physician, or if you are a physician yourself, then recommend it to your friends AFTER you have read it and determined for yourself that it is indeed scientific.

This was the first book i bought on Autism.My daughter was just diagnosed.If your more to the biomedical ave this probably inst the right book.It is hard to get sometimes if you arent a DR,but i kept on reading and did get alot of informative information.It is well written and hes a very smart man thats for sure.Update. In all fairness I've decided to write an update on the book. When I had originally bought this book I was new to autism ,and my daughter had been diagnosed two weeks prior.Now that I'm more familiar with some of the terms such as methylation,mitochondria etc I really like the book,I've read it three times now front to back and have important tidbits I miss every time I re read it. I have yet to find a book that tells you what's exactly going on with the body and helpful info on how to fix it.

Good read to research and learn about the topic

Excellent

A brilliant book full of good information for de-bunking a lot of the epidemiological propoganda out there. The book focuses on real science from a wide range of research scientists. I love the authors honesty about his own presumptions about parents of vaccine damaged children (we're all crazy, wild eyed idiots in denial) before being forced to confront the real issues with his son.I only wish every doctor in the country would read this book.

In the UK we are very much fed the story that autism is a 'developmental' disorder, that it is probably mostly genetic, and that mercury and vaccines are in no way to blame. This book is a refreshing antidote to that propaganda, and unlike many such books it is not selling a particular 'cure' but presents a wealth of well referenced information and based on research and epidemiological studies. His conclusions: Is there an epidemic, yes. Is this simply down to better diagnosis, with a 'Hidden Horde' that were never diagnosed in the past, no. Is it genetic; only insofar as, like most things, some genes predispose to Autism when combined with environmental factors. Is it caused by the MMR vaccine or Thimerosal used to preserve vaccines; probably, but only in a small sub-group. His main conclusion is that autism is a collection of symptoms that probably arise from many different causes, but that abnormalities in the immune system, found in many cases but often ignored, are at the root of many cases and affect can many different organs, including the brain. Thus the immune system may be damaged by mercury, by the combined challenge of vaccines like MMR, or by vaccines administered too close together. The damage may arise because of the failure of the body to excrete toxins such as mercury, or because of an inadequate supply of precursors needed in the detoxification processes. As would be expected of a condition involving the immune system, families and offspring of autistics tend to suffer a higher proportion of auto-immune diseases like allergies, asthma, and rheumatism than the general population.All pretty convincing, and well supported by the evidence presented. I have always thought that Andrew Wakefield's ideas were unfairly dismissed, and that claims that 'large scale meta-studies disprove his theory that MMR vaccine is the cause' were a lie. Wakefield never claimed MMR as the cause of all autism, but was concerned with a sub-set of patients with bowel disorders. Meta-studies, because they include all variants of autism, in widely varying populations, would of course be expected to dilute any effect of MMR vaccine, or any other cause specific to a sub-group, probably to negligible proportions. This does not constitute 'disproof', and Wakefield himself has never gone back on his claims. Allegations that Wakefield's work 'has been discredited', say little about the work itself and are based on the fact that he himself was found guilty of malpractice because he took blood from children without permission - ethically wrong, but nothing to do with the research itself.I would give the book five stars for it's content, but have downgraded because of his statement that autism is 'not a psychological disorder'. Of course it is, as is anything that affects brain and behaviour, and as such it is a valid subject for study by psychologists. The Author's treatment of Bruno Bettleheim (who did not use the term 'refrigerator mother' but is forever condemned by it) is not as fair as his treatment of Wakefield. My reading of Bettleheim's work leaves me thinking that he was a genuine and caring worker; though some reports of his treatment regime leave me worried. The authors' comment that his theory was 'insulting' are a let-down in an otherwise scientific work. Science must never be put off because a hypothesis is 'insulting' or 'distressing', and my own view is that a sub-set of autistic children are the result of failure of the complex series of interactions between carers (not necessarily mother) and child which are necessary to proper development of the psyche. Psychodynamics is far from dead, having been moved on from Freud's wild assertions through the work of John Bowlby and others in the field of Attachment theory. Studies in the UK of Romanian orphans, deprived of proper interactions with adults at an early stage, show that many of them have characteristics of autism. 'Doctoring the Mind' by Richard Bentall (University Professor and clinical psychologist), and 'The Cradle of Thought' by Peter Hobson (Professor of Developmental Psychopathology), are good books to read for up to date views on this side of the story. The mind does surely need certain minimal levels of proper early interaction in order to develop properly, and we must surely not leave out poor interaction as a possible cause of autism (and many other mental conditions) in a subset of cases, probably linked of course to a genetic predisposition that makes the process more vulnerable to failure. Sadly, this book dismisses psychodynamic processes quite unfairly, without any of the rigour given to other factors. The authors say of Bettleheim, 'he was not even an MD'. Many might equally say of the authors, 'they are not even psychologists'!There's another aspect of Autism that fails to get a mention in this book, and that is its predominance in males, in whom it also merges with the normal spectrum. The obsession with mechanisms, and with collecting that is so often seen in boys as young as one year old, seems to have relevance to the autism spectrum, and especially to Asperger's syndrome. This trait is perhaps seen especially in the British, and is possibly linked to the emergence of the industrial revolution in Britain, and the predominant role played by Englishmen in the Scientific Enlightenment. Train-spotters, stamp collectors, boffins and model railway enthusiasts are common archetypes, especially of Britain in the 1950s and 60's but have perhaps become less visible in recent times. Fred Dibnah, the steeplejack and steam engine enthusiast who became famous through his television series, was for me the archetypal ingenious and obsessional, yet highly valuable, englishman bordering on Aspergers. Linked to this is the Aspergers versus 'Neurotypical' debate, with many 'Aspies' doubting the superiority or validity of the neurotypical experience. It's not hard to see that so-called 'social skills' often conflict with reason, so that society has a role to play here in causing stress to those who are particularly good at rational thinking. The 'man of honour' who always tells the truth has a hard time in today's world where huge pressure exists for men to 'embrace their feminine side' and put relationships before truth.

CHANGING THE COURSE OF AUTISM shows that this disease can be treated by reducing the neurological inflammation that is part of the disease process, rather than simply masking the symptoms with drugs like Risperdal and Prozac. The authors have seen autistic behaviors improve dramatically or disappear completely with appropriate medical treatment.