Autism’s False Prophets
When Parent Bloggers Network asked if I would review Autism’s False Prophets, I was initially hesitant. I’m coming at this topic as an “outsider,” if you will. BigBrother, at almost three, does not have any characteristics that lead us to believe autism is a worry. (He is kind of quirky about textures but not spectrum-so.) LittleBrother, who won’t be one until next month, seems to be just fine. You know, like all of those other children that parents of children on the autism spectrum have talked about. And, so, yes, I still worry. I agreed to review the book for a few reasons.
1. I love learning about things that are a bit outside of my experience, things that only touch the fringe of my life. I figure if I don’t read, I’ll never know.
2. Autism is more prevalent in boys than girls. As the everyday Mom of two boys, well, it is just part of my reality. I figured I’d arm myself with some information and all would be well with the world.
If only it was that easy.
Autism’s False Prophets was a tough read. Interesting? Yes. Easy to understand? Not always but do-able even though I’m totally not a scientist. Filled with stuff that made me want to keep turning pages? Well, yes and no. This book took me far longer to get through than I initially expected. I actually breezed through the first chapter. The history of the errors in research regarding vaccines and autism was really interesting. This was the stuff that I didn’t really get from Sears’The Vaccine Book. I was really, really interested in who said what and what went wrong and how things went down.
But…
History only goes so far. The author attempted to make me believe what he was saying. And I wanted to. I want to believe that vaccines aren’t damaging our children. I want to believe that the ones we have chosen as a selectively-vaccinating family aren’t dangerous despite my research. But, man, the author made it really hard to want to believe him. His condescending tone made me want to side with the people he was mocking. His general air of superiority really put me off. And his total lack of hope for parents and children dealing with autism left me feeling, well, hopeless.
My biggest pet peeve was his accusation that x-treatment can’t work for Child 1, Child 2 and Child 3 because it didn’t work for Child 4, Child 5 and Child 6. I get what he was saying regarding parents being emotionally and financially invested in their childrens’ treatment. I know about placebo effect. But as a daughter of a breast cancer survivor and a friend of another breast cancer warrior, I can tell you that different treatments work differently for different people because their reaction to diseases and treatments is different. Why can’t that be the case with autism? Why must we negate the fact that some children are experiencing some form of healing from one treatment while others are benefiting from yet another? Why isn’t that okay? Why isn’t it simply okay for our children to be improving? Why is that bad? Why should we want them to remain in the clutches of autism? Why is hope so bad? Why is the demand for answers frowned upon? I said above: I’m not a scientist. But the general negativity of this book made me glad that I’m not a scientist. I prefer hope.
And so, do I think you should read this book? Actually, yes. I believe that there is some vital history in this book that will help parents make their decisions. However, this should not be the only book you read regarding the vaccination dilemma, autism and the decisions we make for our children as their parents. Grab this book and Sears’ while you’re at it, sit down for two weeks and read through the information that is available. I must warn you, however: Autism’s False Prophets gives parents no answers or hope as to what needs to be done. And, well, I don’t know about you but I prefer a little hope in my life. So read something happy and uplifting after this particular jaunt into science.
Anyone giving away any nice chick lit? My brain is overloaded.
(Speaking of a giveaway: if you’re going to heed my advice and read this book (no, really, I do suggest it for the parents who are like we are and really striving to make the most informed possible choice regarding vaccines), head over to Parent Bloggers Network and leave a comment on their campaign launch post for a chance to win a copy. One must also note that the author is donating all royalties from the book to autism research. So, if you don’t win, consider purchasing it.)
