Before I blog much more, I want to make this clear: I know that I am very lucky in the time and resources I am able to devote to Martin. The stars have aligned for Martin’s recovery. I work at home, with hours that are mostly flexible, earning wages enough to cover private therapies and nanny expenses. Adrian’s work gives us excellent insurance (though not excellent enough to cover most autism treatments) and disposable income. More importantly still, Adrian is 100% on board with Martin’s regimen, a true partner. Martin is our only child. We live in New York City, up to our elbows in Whole Foods Markets and with a local natural-foods store on every second corner. My regular grocery is Fairway, which has an organic produce section the size of Jupiter’s largest moon. My mother is retired and happy to devote her time to baking Martin’s specialized muffins and cookies. Martin’s nanny is an early-childhood-education student who has thrown herself wholeheartedly into assisting with his recovery. When it comes to the support needed to move a child toward neurotypicality, I can’t imagine that anyone has it better than I do.
 
I think it may seem overwhelming, reading this blog about all-organic and homemade restricted diets, 3x/day supplementation routines, building a toxin-free home and kitchen, flying halfway across the country for doctor visits, RDI therapy, HANDLE therapy, Track One specialists, and so forth. In truth, it’s overwhelming to me. Even as I sit here writing this—it’s 12:34 a.m. Monday, laundry is strewn about our apartment in various states of dryness, and 8.5 hours from now I need to be driving Martin to Westchester for an appointment—I feel a little like I’m drowning in what did not get done this weekend.
 
I am not going to pretend that autism recovery is an easy process. To the contrary, what I want to acknowledge is that most parents have it far more difficult than I do, and that I do not consider the extent of recovery activities described in this blog realistic for every family. To everyone out there who is taking any action toward helping a child recover, I salute you. A special shout-out to single parents, parents without supportive partners, families with limited resources or inadequate healthcare, those who lack easy access to natural-food stores and organic grocers, non-English-speaking populations having trouble finding information in their language, the sleepless, the overworked, the stressed. I don’t know how you do it.
 
Autism is an epidemic. We’re in this together. Whatever action you can take toward recovery, no matter how small, is one battle in the war against this condition. Thank you for all that you do.