I would like to thank:
• My husband, Alan, for sharing the journey
• Angela Akers, my right-hand woman at the office, for your tireless work and your gift of hilarity
• Her husband, Doug Akers, who takes all the broken things and makes them work
• Patricia Akers, “Nanny Granny” to our boys, for your endless and good-natured help when the boys were young
• Elizabeth Mumper, MD, my mentor and Sherpa
• Betsy Billheimer Atwater, for setting our feet on the right path all those years ago and showing us where to find help
• My parents, Edsel and Mary Alice Lucas, who always gave me room to stretch my wings
• Jaquelyn McCandless, MD, for her book Children with Starving Brains
• The Autism Research Institute and the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs for their invaluable clinician training
• Ilene Bucholz at ProThera and Klaire Labs for technical information support on probiotics and enzymes
• Dr. Devin Houston for his encyclopedic knowledge of enzymes
• All of the autism parents at my center for their valuable and keen insights
• My book editor, Martha Murphy; my literary agent, Paula Munier; and Ellen Kadin, executive editor, and the entire team at AMACOM Books
—Janet Lintala, DC
I’m deeply grateful to have crossed paths with Dr. Janet Lintala, which happened at a CME writing conference in Boston, thanks to Julie Silver, MD. Janet’s clinical work and family life are enlightening and inspiring; it’s been an honor to work with her on this book. Thanks also to Paula Munier, literary agent, for championing the proposal, and to Ellen Kadin at AMACOM for her enthusiasm for this project. I had the good fortune to be born into a family of extraordinarily thoughtful, inquisitive people—particular thanks go to my parents for their example of grace. And to Kevin: Thanks for being there.
—Martha W. Murphy