Awakened By Autism

When she was told that her 20-month-old son had autism, Dr. Andrea Libutti was devastated. Therapists said he would never communicate with others, nor would he ever form meaningful relationships. Still, Andrea refused to accept that dim prognosis and instead embarked on a years-long journey of discovery and healing. Using her position as a physician to gain access to a variety of specialists, she explored every promising biomedical and behavioral therapy. Eventually, she came to see that we must consider autism not just from a physical perspective but from an emotional and spiritual one as well. In Awakened by Autism, Andrea distills the results of the research she undertook and relays her personal experiences as she tried one treatment after another in search of a way to help her son. She shares her understanding of the multifactorial nature of autism and the problems inherent in how many health-care professionals view the disorder—all culminating in her ultimate revelation: that each child has unique needs and requires a personalized plan for healing. More than just a practical guide to our children’s health, Awakened by Autism is a starting point for healing ourselves and our world. It calls for a paradigm shift surrounding our beliefs about the possibilities for those with autism, allowing us to uncover their hidden brilliance while taking steps to improve their well-being. With the help of this book, we can heal our families beyond all expectations.

Unravelling some spectrums of autism through the short, captivating accounts of a mothers own experiences, this book is an inspirational read and an eye-opener. The perseverance of a mothers love triumphs against all odds to see the unlocking of a maze the little known atypical world of autism. In this book, we are allowed into the honesty of Aarons struggles; his questions of why me?; his own spiritual development; his inspiring progress and determination to learn actions and behaviours that would make him appear normal, to fit in like everyone else. The result: he has publicly and officially lost his autism stigma. Pastor Anne Iuliano (Sydney) A must-read for families coping with autism! This book offers pragmatic suggestions for coping with the uncertainties in the patterns of behaviour of autistic children. Autism has such a wide spectrum that plausibly no two cases are alike. Dato Leela Mohd Ali, Trustee and CEO of PENYAYANG (a Malaysian NGO) It is a book that everyone must read. It will enlighten us on what the power of love can accomplish. Read it, understand it, experience it, and declare it! Rev. Wong Kim Kong, JMN (Kuala Lumpur

Rachael Lee Harris spent her early childhood locked in an autistic fog until beginning her journey from a fragmented world to one in which things began to make sense. Rachael’s determination to take her place in society led her down many paths, from beauty therapist to Catholic nun, from mother and wife to divorcee and working mom. Today, she is a psychotherapist specializing in helping others on the Autism Spectrum. Rachael’s story explores areas such as schooling, family relationships, employment, travel, and faith culminating in monastic life, motherhood, dating, and marriage. Through her story, we get a more “rounded” positive vision of how an autistic life can develop and insight into the benefits of being “on the spectrum” alongside the very real picture of its challenges. Addressing the culture of disability and negativity that surrounds so much of the public perception of the Autism Spectrum, Rachael presents a more moderate and perhaps more objective assessment of her own life experiences, as well as the potential for others on the Spectrum.

At eighteen months, Ashley Ruben still didnt talk. She wouldnt respond when her name was called; she didnt appear to hear either. She fixated on tiny pieces of dirt and ate only crunchy foods. She was enveloped in a thick fogimpenetrable by everyone except Barney the Dinosaur. She worked puzzles like a kindergartener and was computer-savvy before she was two years old. Her mothers late-night searches on the Internet hinted at a reason for her lack of engagement with the outside world. And then a developmental specialist confirmed it: autism, a diagnosis that shook the foundation of a family and shattered a mothers world. Ashley could hear, but she couldnt listen. In order to address that, a therapy retraining her ears to perceive sound better took her back to the time in the womb where listening begins. With the help of specialized recordings of Mozarts music, Ashley gradually awakened. Her brains desire to communicate was kindled, fostering a connection with her body, her family, and the world around her. Ashley had recovered, developing the ability to talk, to listen, to communicate to become an engaging child. But how could Sharon Ruben, a clinical researcher in her own right, convince the skeptics without clinical trial data to prove the effectiveness of this therapy? She didnt need data. She had Ashleyall the proof she needed. Listen Up! This remarkable story is for every person with a child waiting to be awakened to language and communication. Don Campbell, Author of The Mozart Effect and The Mozart Effect for Children

An extraordinary memoir about the cutting-edge brain therapy that dramatically changed the life and mind of John Elder Robison, the New York Times bestselling author of Look Me in the Eye NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST Imagine spending the first forty years of your life in darkness, blind to the emotions and social signals of other people. Then imagine that someone suddenly switches the lights on. It has long been assumed that people living with autism are born with the diminished ability to read the emotions of others, even as they feel emotion deeply. But what if we’ve been wrong all this time? What if that “missing” emotional insight was there all along, locked away and inaccessible in the mind? In 2007 John Elder Robison wrote the international bestseller Look Me in the Eye, a memoir about growing up with Asperger’s syndrome. Amid the blaze of publicity that followed, he received a unique invitation: Would John like to take part in a study led by one of the world’s foremost neuroscientists, who would use an experimental new brain therapy known as TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, in an effort to understand and then address the issues at the heart of autism? Switched On is the extraordinary story of what happened next. Having spent forty years as a social outcast, misreading others’ emotions or missing them completely, John is suddenly able to sense a powerful range of feelings in other people. However, this newfound insight brings unforeseen problems and serious questions. As the emotional ground shifts beneath his feet, John struggles with the very real possibility that choosing to diminish his disability might also mean sacrificing his unique gifts and even some of his closest relationships. Switched On is a real-life Flowers for Algernon, a fascinating and intimate window into what it means to be neurologically different, and what happens when the world as you know it is upended overnight. Praise for Switched On “An eye-opening book with a radical message . . . The transformations [Robison] undergoes throughout the book are astonishing—as foreign and overwhelming as if he woke up one morning with the visual range of a bee or the auditory prowess of a bat.”—The New York Times “Astonishing, brave . . . reads like a medical thriller and keeps you wondering what will happen next . . . [Robison] takes readers for a ride through the thorny thickets of neuroscience and leaves us wanting more.”—The Washington Post “Fascinating for its insights into Asperger’s and research, this engrossing record will make readers reexamine their preconceptions about this syndrome and the future of brain manipulation.”—Booklist “Like books by Andrew Solomon and Oliver Sacks, Switched On offers an opportunity to consider mental processes through a combination of powerful narrative and informative medical context.”—BookPage “A mind-blowing book that will force you to ask deep questions about what is important in life. Would normalizing the brains of those who think differently reduce their motivation for great achievement?”—Temple Grandin, author of The Autistic Brain “At the heart of Switched On are fundamental questions of who we are, of where our identity resides, of difference and disability and free will, which are brought into sharp focus by Robison’s lived experience.”—Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Effect

A boy describes his friendship with Matt, whose autism spectrum disorder causes him to behave strangely at times, and how he make things easier for Matt at school and in their neighborhood.

A comprehensive program that targets all four of the 4-A epidemics: autism, ADHD, asthma, and allergies “An easy-to-read commonsense guide to beneficial biomedical treatments.”—Temple Grandin Doctors have generally overlooked the connections among the 4-A disorders. For years the medical establishment has considered autism medically untreatable and utterly incurable, and has limited ADHD treatment mainly to symptom suppression. Dr. Kenneth Bock, a leading medical innovator, along with his colleagues, have discovered a solution that goes to the root of the problem. They have found that modern toxins, nutritional deficiencies, metabolic imbalances, genetic vulnerabilities, and assaults on the immune and gastrointestinal systems trigger most of the symptoms of the 4-A disorders, resulting in frequent misdiagnosis and untold mysteries. Dr. Bock’s remarkable Healing Program is an innovative biomedical approach that has changed the lives of more than a thousand children. Drawn from medical research and based on years of clinical success, this program offers a safe, sensible solution that is individualized to each child to help remedy the root causes. Dr. Bock also shares the dramatic true stories of parents and children that will inspire you to change the life of your own child. Hope is at last within reach.

The generation of Indigos —the bright, intuitive, strong-willed children born from the mid-1970s on —are now adults, and they have fresh healing information to teach! Doreen Virtue and her Indigo son Charles Virtue (co-authors of the Indigo Angel Oracle Cards) explain the Indigos’ group purpose of bringing truth and integrity to our planet, and show how this new energy is beneficial to us all. You will learn how to: • Harness the Indigo intensity for positive healing purposes • Overcome fears related to leadership and being authentic • Superpower your life by hearing, speaking, and living your inner truth Doreen and Charles discuss how the new energy that the Indigos have brought to our planet enables all of us to heal physically and emotionally at a faster rate. Whether you’re an Indigo yourself or a parent or caretaker of one, this book will usher into your life new levels of understanding, peace, and purpose.