Throughout the years I was an educator I was disturbed to find so many students labeled with ADD, ADHD, Asberger’s Syndrome, PPD, and autism. I wondered how so many children could have these conditions. Even my own son was labeled with first ADHD and then Asberger’s syndrome.
Michael Goldberg, in his book, The Myth of Autism: How a Misunderstood Epidemic is Destroying Our Children, asserts that if these conditions are genetic then why is the number of children who are being diagnosed with these conditions growing exponentially?
After years of studies, research and successful treatment, Goldberg has arrived at the firm conclusion that thousands of children are being mislabeled when what is actually affecting them is a compromised immune system due to a viral infection-often caused by receiving too many inoculations at the same time or while the child already had an overextended immune system due to illness as well as allegry induced diets.
Goldberg makes the connection between these conditions and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in adults (as well as children) who are suffering from the same weakened immune system. He demands that the medical community stop misdiagnosing these conditions as genetic or psychosemantic disorders and start regarding them for what they are: physical conditions that can be treated through proper medication and diet.
This particularly hits home for me because not only was my own son misdiagnosed for years but my niece has been battling Chronic Fatigue (and she’s only 14 years old!) I recognized the symptoms Goldberg described as well as the narrow mindedness of the countless Doctors who, because none of the micro-specific tests they ran showed anything, concluded that there was nothing wrong with her-even though she spends many days lying around, hardly able to move.
I found Goldberg’s book fascinating as he showed cat scans of the brain of those afflicted with the aforementioned conditions and these same brains after they’d received his treatment. Even a non medical person like myself could see the remarkable differences.
Goldberg writes in an easy to understand style that makes his book facile reading for those of us who aren’t medical professionals. His findings will give hope to many parents who have battled for years, advocating for better treatment for their child cast under the autism spectrum labels.
He concludes his book with a number of inspiring testimonies by parents who had been told to pretty much give up on their own children but, through his treatment, came out of their isolated “autistic world” to become, happy, functioning, independent members of society.
I bought this book.
For more information:
Another point of view: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1576829,00.html
6 comments:
I am in graduate school for Educational Psychology and I am fascinated by the various theories of Autism. I just purchased this book. Thank you so much for posting this!! I am now following you.
I am also attempting to read as many books as humanly possible and chronicling my attempts at http://erinsbibliomania.blogspot.com
I'd love for you to check it out!
-Erin
Interesting you just visited because I just visited your site as well. Your major is a fascinating one and I hope you post reviews on your studies because I'd love to read it. Good luck with reading as many books as humanly possible. I personally fret that there's so little time to read all the books I want to. Take care!
I just heard a study that states there are to many children that labeled autistic that are not. I agree 100%.
@ Marsha: I was disturbed at how many children in EACH classroom that I taught that had several children with some kind of diagnosis. It's epidemic.
I just read about how the guidelines for diagnosing ASD will change this year, which will lead to FEWER diagnoses of autism. Like you, I think it is over-diagnosed, but I know a lot of parents probably feel left out in the dark.
Joey: I didn't know that. I'd be interested in reading how exactly they diagnose people.
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