This book proposes that even very minute distortions and irregularities in a person's hearing can affect how he acts. It offers what seems to be an effective treatment for dyslexia, depression, autism, hyperacusis, tinnitus, and even stuttering using altered sounds to retrain the hearing. It clearly & simply describes the scientific functions of the hearing process along with the disorders and the actual treatment. Guy Berard comes across as a thorough researcher and a compassionate doctor. It claims a 93 percent cure rate for depression within a 10 day course of treatment, I'd say that's impressive.

Am re reading Facing Autism and taking down notes and checking off what gave Ryan in Lynn Hamiltons book leaps forward in his development. I really feel like this book is a must read for any child or doctor of an autistic child as it covers not only educational interventions but dietary and biological interventions. After reading all that is available through the various organisations and parent groups I find that I can be very confused - Lynn Hamilton takes all of the available treatments and states how and why they work and where to find the appropriate information and/or persons to further investigate those options. I found Lynns practical knowledge and perserverance to be very inspiring - I didn't feel like this was a one off miracle story but rather a very thoughful and methodical approach - there are so many oneoff stories in amongst all of the different approaches to autism but very very few stories of steady improvement across all areas of a child's life - education, diet, biomedical etc etc.

I have found this a must read, and am recommending it to anyone with an autistic child so they can see positive results from someone who has kept looking for answers and uncovering lots of options that are available to anyone to try with their child - so many of the biomedical ideas we will now persue - I was totally unaware of how to even where to begin in this area - or I have attempted to begin a few times before only to be confused and have retreated again. The style of writing is a great combination of getting to know Ryan, so that one may compare to ones own child, as we all do and then three quarters of the book is practical information, including a what to do now list, which saves so much precious time - this is my number one book - it is a book that I will be giving to our childs teacher aide, teacher and anyone else in his life as it gives anyone a great overall picture of how multifaceted this disorder is and what can be done about it to give a child the best possible quality of life. Thanks for such a great contribution to my life!

I wish that this book had been published when my own son was first diagnosed with autism. It is certainly the first book that I would recommend to any parent of an autistic child.

Autism is such a multifactorial and multifaceted disorder that most children seem to need several modes of intervention to help them achieve to their fullest potential. I wasted many months trying to gather information from different sources. However, in this one book, Lynn Hamilton succeeds in combining an inspiring and very personal story with the nitty gritty practical details of all the interventions which have helped her son. She describes behavioural therapy, diet, food and vitamin supplementation, secretin, and sensory and auditory integration. She provides both a personal and scientific background to each of these along with numerous references, and details of suppliers.

There is a chapter written by Lynn's husband in which he shares how to survive as a family and maintain loving relationships. Also included is a short yet moving section provided by the mother of a boy who did not make dramatic progress despite many therapies.

The whole book is written in an easily readable style, and packed with down to earth advice as well as information.

I know from personal experience that, as a parent, the day that autism enters your life is a very black one indeed. This book will help to give you direction as to what you can do now, and it will help to give you hope for the future.

This book should be on the shelves of all professionals dealing with the diagnosis of autism in children, so that they can hand it over to the parents who have just received the news.
Lynn Hamilton, the mother of an autistic child herself, deals first of all with the difficult time parents experience as they come to terms with their child's condition. But she then goes on to do what many so-called experts in the field do not do - she tells us what we CAN do, rather than leaving it there. This book covers the essential topics of diet, supplementation and biomedical treatments such as anti-fungal therapy and secretin, which made a big difference to her son's condition.
There are comprehensive lists of helpful websites. She gives details of various resources for Occupational and other therapies.
She also gives an overview of the main educational approaches, in particular describing more fully how a home-based ABA programme has greatly helped her son, who is now in mainstream school. While she, herself, is based in the USA, this information, and contact addresses for training courses and support groups, is given for other countries too.
However, although this is indeed an 'essential guide' and handbook containing all the information you need as you start to investigate how to help your autistic child, it is also much more. In a very down-to-earth, honest and readable manner, Lynn Hamilton shares her own experiences...........her hopes, fears, pain and ultimately her joy in her son's triumph over many of his former difficulties.
I read this book about 15 months after my own son's diagnosis, by which time I had accumulated a great deal of knowledge, and collected piles of printouts from the Internet! However, in this one volume, there was still much for me to learn, as well as a welcome encouragement to continue to have a great deal of hope for my child.
Lynn's faith shines out from this book, and it has certainly helped to lighten my own path through this maze that is Autism.

I read this book in one sitting, and found much that interested me greatly. I was far more convinced by it than by anything else I have read to think more about a special diet for my autistic spectrum child, and was also fascinated by the many other theories touched on here---the connection between autism and auto-immune disorders, ideas about mothers for whom the MMR vaccine doesn't "take" and having a child with autism, etc. However, a few things about this book disturbed me. Although the book does state that the very restricted special diet seems to only work in 1 of 3 children with autism, the author seems to have quite a bit of anger and disdain for parents who chose not to try the diet---I was really troubled by her description of a scene in a grocery store after a meeting with a parent who had not been convinved to try the diet. I feel quite sure I know what at least partially caused my child's autism, and although I am extremely open to and interested in all theories and ideas on how to help him, I do not want to be judged for not trying any certain one. However, if you do have a child with autism, I think that it's worth reading this book, as it's well written, and making a decision on your own as to what to do with what you do with what you read here.

Karen Seroussi is not only a wonderful writer but she is also my hero. I was very upset when my 3 year old son was diagnosed with PDD. I felt hopeless and the minor therapies my son was recieving weren't helping him. After ordering Karen's book, I was a different person...a mother on a mission! Seroussi takes you through her son's story which really hit home with me. By the time you reach the end you are so excited to try this diet you can't think. Luckily, Karen also explains step by step how to get started on this new diet and how to shop. It's so hard at first but what isn't about autism. My son has been on the diet for 5 months now and is a different child! This book is a must read for all parents! This is the best book out there to help your child. Thank you Karen...so much!

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!!

The authors have clearly done a tremendous amount of work to bring us this incredible resource. For anyone who has gone on a yeast free diet this is a real find. Even a kitchen klutz like myself is able to follow the recipes. There is an interesting variety of recipes that will be ones you'll be able to make and will want to make again and again.

Of all the cookbooks I've purchased, this is my absolute favorite. Recipes are EASY and DELICIOUS. The bonus is that you feel great knowing that what you're putting in your body is absolutely healthy. As you read the book you learn that the authors are both exceptionally well-informed and educated; advice is practical.

I recommend this book to everyone and not only people with yeast problems. Since I've turned my friends on to the recipes in this book, they also purchased their own copy.

The food from this cookbook is really tasty and satifying. While I suspect that I and members of my family would benefit from following a yeast free diet all the time becuase of some of our health porblems, I have not been able to follow it all the time (yet). However, I still love this book for the recipes as they are and for the ideas they give me. I especially love the Lemon Roasted potatoes, the Zesty Eggplant relish and the Hearty Soups.

I am a mother of a three year old boy with the spectrum disorder of autism. I could not wait to read this book because of the "miracle" title. Halfway through, I realized the mother was the one with major issues. Ms. Steils position was a difficult one having one daughter with leukemia and the other with autism. I was extremely dissapointed to see how long it took her to bond with Georgie. She was institutionalised and labled and slipped through the loops so to say as her mom fought for her sanity. In this broken and torn apart family it's a wonder to even say Georgie could have been saved sooner if more time and effort were given to her. Very sad and depressing tale of a mother who never had a clue as to what her daughter needed the most --her.

When you are the parent of a child with Autism, it's difficult to make people understand what is going on with that child. Friends and family, although well meaning, just can't possibly understand the big picture! Reading her book was like having my own private support group. As I read of her self-doubt as a parent and later realizing that her parenting had nothing to do with Georgie's issues, I cheered for her. I thought "Yes, I'm not the only one who has felt this way"!
The sections focusing on Georgie's successful treatment with AIT also gave me some hope for the future with my own child, as her symptoms are eerily similar to Georgie's.
A "must read" for parents and caregivers!

Georgiana (Georgie) was born May 24, 1965. She made all developmental milestones within normal limits, as did her older sister, Dotsy. Speech was the major milestone that Georgiana did not make during her early years.

Georgie's mother had many overwhelming issues -- Georgie's unusual aversion for any type of sound, music included and the Dotsy's being diagnosed with leukemia when she was 4.

Annabelle naturally has Georgie tested and sent to early intervention programs. The only place where Georgie appeared to thrive was at Bellevue Hospital because, as Georgie herself said many years later, "it was quiet there." Dotsy's health deteriorates and she dies at the age of 8 in 1971. Georgie, then 6, is sent to a residential facility identified only as "Childville."

"Childville" sounds like a genuine Chamber of Horrors. Georgie complains about the noise and staff dismiss her complaints. She is overmedicated and complains that the medicines make her feel funny. She becomes hostile and acts out because she cannot stand any type of sound. A rather incompetent social worker identified as "Judith" seems determined to block and undermine any and all progress on Georgie's part. When the girl shows an unusual balancing ability and begs for a skateboard, Judith refuses, telling Georgie's mother that Georgie is "overcompensating a fear." Fortunately, Georgie gets her skateboard and is quite proficient on it.

Georgie is fortunate enough to have summers free of that institutional wasteland. Luckily for all, Annabelle marries Peter and that union produces a natural brother and later a sister for Georgie. Peter has some grown daughters from a previous marriage and it is in this loving, extended family that Georgie blossoms.

Annabelle decides that Childville is not the answer and withdraws Georgie when the girl was 11. Peter had accepted a job in Switzerland, and naturally Georgie wanted to join her family. Judith tries to keep Annabelle and Peter from withdrawing Georgie, invoking the name of and cliches from Freud. Fortunately, Annabelle withdraws Georgie, discontinues the medications and for the next several years, Georgie flourishes in Switzerland. She learns to ski, is mainstreamed and explains her aversion to sound. Luckily, she has been treated by several very humane doctors specially trained in AIT (Auditory Integration Therapy) and this treatment is continued during her years abroad. One can't help but cheer when Georgie dances in the rain, explaining that the rain "doesn't sound like a machine gun anymore."

An interesting expression that Annabelle coined is "hig," meaning "hostile inadvertent gesture." One can't help wondering why it isn't "hostile INTENTIONAL gesture" because Georgie would sometimes deliberately inflict physical pain on people who had crossed her. Annabelle devised the acronym "hig" to subtly call Georgie on her behavior in these instances.

After several years abroad, the family returns to the U.S. Georgie's records "mysteriously disappear" because the cruise ship she was on met with a disaster and several cartons had to be discarded.

Free of previous baggage, Georgie attends a public school in Connecticut. She graduates as class valedictorian in 1984 and, at last count, is happily married.

Georgie appeared on "Sally Jesse Raphael" in recent years and drew a map of Africa, all countries included from memory. Bright and now quite verbal, Georgie is a strong advocate of AIT. She said it literally saved her life.