Library Journal Review

Drawing upon his work with 200 autistic children since 1994, Edelson, founding director of the Edelson Center for Environmental and Preventative Medicine in Atlanta, proposes a 20-month treatment to remove the environmental toxins that he believes trigger autism in children. While he provides some compelling and well-documented evidence for natural remedies (e.g., vitamins, treatments to reduce heavy metals in the body), he does not, overall, offer a balanced approach to treating autism and often plugs his own institution. In addition, he often makes general statements that are difficult to support, e.g., that all autistic children suffer digestive problems and are never offered any hope. Edelson routinely cites older studies that would have included only severe autism (based on the traditional diagnosis in 1970s) and fails to acknowledge the behavioral and speech therapies that might have been used concurrently with successful patients. Furthermore, he chronicles the improvement of these patients in percentages that lack clear meaning. While this book is far better than Stephanie Marohn's recent The Natural Medicine Guide to Autism, it still does not make a compelling case for the all-natural approach. Mitzi Waltz's Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Understanding the Diagnosis and Getting Help remains the best choice. Not recommended.-Corey Seeman, Univ. of Toledo Libs., OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.