Author Description

"Part of the torture of autism is that the future is so impossibly unsure. Your child might become a fully functioning member of society and appear no different than anyone else, even if he does have to look at mouths instead of eyes and can't stand to give his own kids a bath. Or, he might be so violent that he requires institutionalization...Either way, you're expected to work your ass off for it." Autism is a national epidemic that affects 1 in 68 children. When Jennifer Noonan's children were diagnosed, she decided to fight, beginning a lifelong journey into the latest science, medical treatments, and dietary interventions. This gripping, wryly funny memoir recounts the lengths one mother will go to in order to heal her family. "-- "When Jennifer Noonan's child is diagnosed with autism, she decides to fight. She will end the screaming and the spinning in circles. She will end the listless stares and restore her children's ability to communicate. What follows is her gripping, but also wryly funny, multi-year journey into the latest science and treatments in order to rescue her kids and her family from autism. This book draws its title from an Emily Perl Kingsley essay "Welcome to Holland": Kingsley was the mother to a Down Syndrome child and her essay equates the experience of raising a child with a disability to planning a trip to Italy and realizing you are in Holland. If you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, Kingsley says, "you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things... about Holland." That directly relates to Noonan's story and her son Gideon's being diagnosed with autism. Noonan created and now actively maintains a blog for autism parents The GFCF Lady, where she endorses a Gluten-Free/Casein-Free Diets for Autism with anecdotes and recipes, including video evidence of her son Gideon"--