Dr. Manny Recommends: The Myth of Autism by Dr. Michael Goldberg

As you all know, I have a child with autism.

From personal experience, I can tell you that autism comes with a lot of myths and misunderstandings – especially regarding how it develops and exactly what it entails.

With that said, I have to recommend the recently published book The Myth of Autism: How a Misunderstood Epidemic Is Destroying Our Children by Dr. Michael J. Goldberg and Elyse Goldberg.

In the book, Dr. Goldberg, the president of the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Medical Advisory Board, explains why autism must be a symptom of a treatable, neurological disease that attacks the brain’s immune system.

Through personal anecdotes, case studies, and original research, Dr. Goldberg develops an elegant theory on autism – how is not a purely developmental disorder, nor something fixed from birth, and therefore, it must be a disease that can be treated therapeutically.

He correctly refutes the idea that vaccines play a part in the development of autism.  Any link between vaccinations and autism diagnoses are purely coincidental, he asserts, because vaccinations are normally given at the same time as the child is undergoing crucial developmental changes.

Furthermore, Dr. Goldberg insists that attention towards the relationship between vaccinations and autism must be dropped in order to focus on the real problem: curing and preventing a complex immune, complex viral disease process.  To view autism in this light could rapidly improve current therapy efforts.

Again, as a parent with an autistic child and a physician myself, I have to say that this is one of the best books on autism I have ever read.  Whether you and your family have been touched personally by autism, or you just want to learn more about it, I definitely think it’s necessary to pick up this book for an in-depth, informative study on the disease.