Changing the Course of Autism: A Scientific Approach for Parents and Physicians Paperback – May 11, 2007

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 notuniversally than either fraternal twins or other siblings)2) Autism is more than just genetic and is a complex conditionlikely to have several 'causes' which affect those with thegenetic predisposition.3) Other (than neurological) conditions are commonly seen inconjunction with autism, and might either be more closelyrelated to the root causes or environmental factors whichcause autism to express so tragically. (Intestinal disordersbeing the most common.)4) Finding a way to TREAT the babies that is safe and scientificallysupportable, driven by neither fads nor hindered by refusal toreally LOOK at and UNDERSTAND what the current scientificstudies 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.

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

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.