Last week, in one long sitting, I read Judy Chinitz's book, We Band of Mothers: Autism My Son & the Specific Carbohydrate Diet .

What Judy did in the book, which is valuable to any family with an autistic child was to bravely describe raising her son Alex: the terrible pain he went through and its effect on everyone in his family.

Family and friends usually gather around when a loved one is ill. But with serious cases of autism, when the pain goes on for months and years without any signs of future relief, nerves begin to fray and it takes incredible strength to keep going. (In an estimated 80% of cases, one parent is left standing alone--the strain of the sick child too much for the relationship to bear.)

The positive side of this book is Judy's story of finding ways to alleviate Alex's pain and beginning to live again, to look ahead to the future. The cornerstone of Alex's therapy has been dietary (SCD) but another key part has been building a strong support network with other parents and sharing their experiences in helping heal their children.

The last section of the book includes stories from many other mothers with a wide variety of experiences who have benefitted from the specific carbohydrate diet.

Yesterday, Judy spoke on Austim One Radio. Her broadcast is available via the site's archive.