THE THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS OF A BUDDHIST AMONG BAPTISTS
• Reverend Father Antonio Hernández, O.M.D., A.B.F.
Founder of the Independent Order of American Buddhist Fathers
suriak@yahoo.com

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NEW Book on Autism By Rev Antonio Hernandez out now:

No Duty To Retreat: The Stories of Tourette's Disease and Asperger's Autism The Tourette's Disease and Asperger's Autism ISBN # 159-286-9262, trade-size paperback, 248 pages, $19.95 Long ago, a deep desperation was threatening to engulf my life, and ultimately end it. A dozen psychiatrists in as many years had no idea what was wrong with me, and the medicos were even worse. The ignorance I had to face was unendurable. No one helped. When I spotted an article in the early 1990s about Mozart and a thing called Tourette's Syndrome (TS), which is really Tourette's Disease, my interest was tremendous. An endocrinologist had written two papers on Mozart's symptoms and personality- it seemed he was writing about me. I devoured everything I could find on Tourette's. The research lead me to read Oliver Sacks' books, especially The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. I also read David Comings' Tics and Human Behavior. It was like a divine revelation. I KNEW WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME!

Click On image To Buy at Amazon

All that was missing was a competent doctor. It took me some years to find one. The diagnosis was immediate. When I looked at the notes I had compiled over the years, I realized there was a good book in there someplace. The manuscript was begun immediately, and early versions were floating around by 1998. But my troubles were not over.... Certain personality characteristics and symptoms persisted; they were not explained by TS. After some accidental stumbling across information (it seemed to me that was the only way to get it) I found that a link existed between TS and a thing called Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Asperger's Syndrome, which is really Asperger's autism, was found to be the cause of my other problems. In fact AS seemed to be the basic definition of my entire personality.

Tourette's Disease is an insidious neurological muscular-movement disorder, cause unknown. Its primary feature consists of tics, which are involuntary movements and noises. These tics can include obscenities. TS is deeper and more complex than anyone can imagine, which is why I wrote my book. Among TS sufferers in the past, there are André Malraux, Samuel Johnson, and today several film stars are revealing their battle with the disease. It is not generally a degenerative disease, nor is it terminal.

Asperger's autism is a mild form of autism, sometimes called "high function" autism because people afflicted with it can lead normal, productive lives. Most if not all AS sufferers also demonstrate genius-level intelligence and multiple talents in totally unrelated fields. Albert Einstein is one of the most famous of all high-function autism sufferers, and he demonstrated TS symptoms as well. All this lead me to understand that TS and AS might be manifestations of the same disease. It was a matter of a few months to add chapters to my book that deal with autism.

I wanted a book so very badly- I am a hardcore bibliophile, but nothing was on the shelves that really hit the spot. Thus it struck me that only I could write the kind of book I hoped would be available. My book, No Duty To Retreat: The Stories of Tourette's Disease and Asperger's Autism, is somewhat like a long letter to a dear friend. It is much more than that: it illustrates the histories of these conditions, reveals some surprising statistics, offers self-help advice in all areas of life, and is just plain fun to read. My self references are purely to illustrate points about the illnesses and my battles with them, and everything in that book is true.

Now the BIG DREAM is that any and all who can benefit from my book will read it. It is my fervent prayer that all who read it will be touched deeply by the facts, as I was, and that people will come away from the book with lots of food for thought. In the end, that is all any good author and scientist can hope to achieve.

© Most Rev Antonio Hernandez OMD Oct 2003
email: suriak@ yahoo.com

Order his book now from Amazon - click on book cover to link
PLEASE NOTE: YOUR BOOKSTORE MAY HAVE TO SPECIAL-ORDER THIS TITLE. IN SOME CASES, CERTAIN STORES MAY NOT HAVE THE TITLE AVAILABLE TO THEM. IN THIS CASE WE ADVISE ORDERING ON-LINE.

TOURETTE'S DISEASE (a.k.a. Tourette's Syndrome or TS) is a neurological disease classified as a muscular movement disorder. Related to it are other neurological movement disorders such as the dystonias, chorea, myoclonus, and Parkinson's Disease. Though they are not of the same base disease, all are classified as "movement disorders", formally called "dystonia".
THE AUTHOR'S BOOK delves deeply into the histories of TS and AS, giving the reader a comprehensive overview of past findings and attitudes. The book provides a handy list of symptoms and other support-related facts; the good doctors, Georges Gilles de la Tourette and Hans Asperger, are profiled- along with several famous historical figures who suffered from either TS, AS and/or both conditions. Finally, there are handy sections on support awareness, self-help, seeking professional counsel, dealing with schools, and a good resource section.

THE BOOK has the feel of a long letter written to a dear friend; it is both informative and amusing. Devoid of any stuffy, academic rhetoric and excessive medical terms, the book is well suited to patient, interested layperson and physician alike. Finally, the book explores a stunning new theory, which is proposed by the author:
COULD TOURETTE'S DISEASE, AUTISM AND THE DYSTONIAS BE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SAME BASIC DISEASE? Needless to say, AS and TS have many things in common. Good ways of dealing with both conditions are essentially identical. Ways of coping include: Stress reduction. Set routines for everyday living. A sympathetic, knowledgeable, open-minded physician. A healthy support network- preferably a loving, understanding family. Education, education, and MORE education! A search on the internet will glean many good pages dealing with TS, AS and related subjects. Below are links to the best sites available: The National Tourette Syndrome Association of America (TSA) The Autism Society of America (ASA) We Move.org is a website dealing with the various dystonias. FAAAS (Families of Adults Affected by Asperger's Syndrome) OOPS! Wrong Planet is a comprehensive database about TS, AS and many other wonderful things.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The Most Reverend Father Antonio Hernández is a Zen Buddhist priest and founder of a new branch of Buddhism, the Order of Independent American Buddhist Fathers. He was ordained a Buddhist monk in 1993; that same year he was approved to begin his medical practice as Doctor of Oriental Medicine. Prior to taking religious vows, Rev. Fr. Hernández worked in law enforcement for many years. He was also trained as a certified nurse's assistant, special education program assistant, and also worked as an optician (his favorite trade) for many years. He is also a self-trained cultural and forensic anthropologist, having made many contributions to the fields.
READ, STUDY, LEARN, SHARE WHAT YOU LEARN, AND GOOD LUCK

Previously by Antonio:
The Importance Of Dog Collars
In Praise of Hobos
Last Days of Pope
Why We Need Spirituality
My Fat Gay-Goth Wedding


Read also the story of an eleven year old kid with autism in Out To Get Jack

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